How to survive on Dragon Island (Story the 1st)
by Marty the Martian
Summary: The rewrite - slightly longer with new Author Notes: The Red Death is dead and Stoick's son is badly wounded, but how can they return home when the fleet they arrived on is destroyed? Fortunately Vikings are strong and resourseful but how long will it take for them to become accustomed to working with their new dragon allies and will the whole tribe be able to accept the New Berk?
1. Chapter 1

How to Survive on Dragon Island (rewrite)

**Hi everyone; most of this story is exactly the same with only sentence reconstructions to help it flow better. There are a few new bits but nothing that changes the story so far that you will need to read it again (unless you want too of course).**

**Although this is an original story, I felt that I could not just start it cold so the first few chapters consist of a lot of flashbacks and re-telling of major parts of the movie so the reader could hopefully follow what is happening even if they had never seen it before (but I recommend that you do). Once the lead up to Hiccup's "Accident" is done (the end of chapter 5), then it's all new story till chapter 29. I hope you do like some of my ideas about the childhoods of the Dragon Riders, I found them fun to write.**

**Thanks for reading, Marty.**

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1 Stoick's Battle

"HICCUP!" Stoick cried out "HICCUP... SON!"

The air was heavy and Stoick found it difficult to breath and harder to see, but this was not the same sea fog that usually hung over Dragon Island, this was thick smoke; the result of the biggest and most powerful explosion anyone from Berk had ever seen. Now Stoick searched intently for his son in that thick smoke, for Hiccup had not seen the explosion with all the others, no... he had been inside it.

Stoick the vast was a Viking. He was a Viking from the island of Berk and not only that, but he was also the chief of his tribe; a tribe that had been at war for the last three hundred years. This war had taken a heavy toll on the Chief and his people, for it was not a war against men and ships but against dragons.

The dragons had been ruthless for they would attack at night, burn his village, kill his people and steal their food and Stoick hated them; he hated them with a vengeance. He hated them for what they had done to his friends, he hated them for what they had done to his village but most of all he hated them for killing his wife and leaving him sad and alone to raise his son all by himself; the son who would grow up to betray his father and his tribe by siding with the murderous beasts. Indeed Stoick hated them so much, that he had become obsessed with tracking down the dragons home – their nest - so that he could destroy it and drive the dragons away forever, but he was beginning to believe that finding the nest would be next to impossible and so he had almost given up hope, until the day of his son's betrayal.

Stoicks boy Hiccup was almost fifteen, but not quite, and much to his father's shame was the weakest of all the trainees, even thought he was Gobber the Blacksmiths apprentice. Beating hot metal with a hammer usually put many layers of muscle on a young man but not Hiccup even though he was good at his work and tried very hard. Gobber believed that Hiccups problem was that he could not keep his mind on the job at hand; he was always working on intricate mechanisms instead of concentrating on the important things in life like swords, knives and axes, but then the day came when all that changed.

Both the Chief and the Blacksmith were delighted when the boy suddenly displayed a real knack in dealing with dragons; Stoick had been away on another fruitless search for the dragons nest and upon his return, found that the boy had finally become a true Viking. The Chief was particularly happy that he would soon witness his son's new found skills when he fought and killed a dragon in the ring, but instead Stoick discovered that the boy had tricked his father and he had betrayed his tribe. Instead of battling the dragon in a fight to the death, Hiccup had actually tried to make friends with the beast, and in front of the whole tribe too, but then to make things even worse, a second dragon had come to defend the boy not only from the other dragon, but from his own people as well; Hiccup was a traitor.

The Chief of Berk had no choice; he must disown his son and treat him like an enemy, but this was an enemy who had information that Stoick could use. Hiccup had travelled to the long sought after dragons nest and he had even mistakenly revealed to his father how it could be found by using a dragon to guide him and the Viking fleet straight to their island home. Ever since the day Stoick could first lift a battleaxe, he had devoted himself to the total annihilation of the dragons, and not even a warning from his son could sway him.

"No dad no; it's not what you think" the boy had warned Stoick "You don't know what you're up against; it's like nothing you've ever seen."

Stoick had not listened to his son because Hiccup was only fourteen and he had no idea what he was talking about; as man and boy, Stoick had seen his village destroyed time and time again. He had seen friends and family maimed and killed including his own beloved wife; the boy's mother had been carried off into the night by a Stormcutter dragon and never to be seen again. But what Stoick found on Dragon Island proved that his son was telling the truth and it shocked him to his very core.

It was a giant and it appeared to all who saw it like a moving mountain; the smallest of its claws was longer than Stoick was tall and the rocks from the catapult just bounced off its hide.

The plan was simple; attack the dragons and just keep on attacking them until they fled or were all dead, but when the giant dragon burst out of the mountain, Stoick instantly knew that his task was hopeless as with one breath, it set every ship in the Vikings armada ablaze. It had even picked up one Longship in its jaws and bit it in two, crushing it completely into splinters.

Stoick was convinced that he would die that day and so he decided that as chief, he had no other choice but to keep the giant dragon distracted by allowing it to hunt him for as long as he could stay alive, thus allowing his people some chance of escape to the other side of the island, however slim that chance might be; but then... his son had arrived. The boy that Stoick had disowned and abandoned back on Berk, arrived on the island with all his friends but to the surprise of every Viking present, they were all riding on the backs of dragons.

It all began with an explosion of flame that erupted behind the giants head as four dragons swooped around from behind it. Bringing up the rear of this group was a large bulbous dragon called a Gronckle being ridden, to Stoicks utter surprise, by a short bulbous Viking boy named Fishlegs Ingerman. Ahead of this incredible sight were two more dragons. To the right, a Monstrous Nightmare; a large red dragon with long thorn like spines along its back, tail and wings being ridden by a muscular young lad who went by the name of Snotlout Jorgenson. To the left was a Hideous Zippleback; a green twin headed dragon being ridden by twin slow headed Vikings named Ruffnut Thorston and her brother Tuffnut. Leading the group was a Deadly Nadder; a blue reptilian and birdlike dragon with a large round head and a tail covered with long spikes that could be hurled like throwing knives with, as its name suggested, deadly accuracy.

This dragon carried two riders; a small blonde girl named Astrid Hofferson and his own son Hiccup who lead the small band of... what? Dragon riders? What else could they be but Dragon riders? He could see the boy's arms waving and pointing as he shouted inaudible orders to the flying group who began their attack on the giant, while the dragon carrying Astrid and Hiccup suddenly swooped to the left and made for the burning longships.

The Night Fury! The Viking Chief suddenly remembered the dragon that he had chained to the bow of his flagship; the dragon that Hiccup had named Toothless. Stoick ran towards the ship as Hiccup dropped down onto the burning deck while Astrid and the Nadder flew off to assist the other Dragon Riders. Hiccup pulled the muzzle from the snout of the black, cat like Night Fury before he began to pull at the chains that bound the beast. So intent was the Chief to reach the ship that he failed to notice the success the other young Vikings were having in distracting the giant dragon; the angry beast twisted and turned in vain attempts to rid itself of the bothersome pests flying around its head causing it's huge, mace like tail to sweep across the burning ships before it's leg came crashing down on the bow of the flagship, breaking it off completely as the stern reared up from the water hurling the boy and his dragon overboard and into the icy water.

Stoick threw off his helmet and dove from the rocks into the cold subarctic sea where he could see, down on the sandy floor, Hiccup still pulling at the chains that kept the dragon a prisoner of both the Vikings and the water, but soon the boy's body reached the limit of his air supply and he floated slowly backwards limp and lifeless as several tiny air bubbles delicately made their way to the surface of the water about twenty five feet above him. Stoick grabbed the boy's collar and swam up desperately, until he finally broke the surface of the water. With no time to spare, he placed his son safely on the shore before turning back to dive once more into the cold deep.

The Night Fury thrashed about violently in a desperate attempt to escape its bonds when the Viking who had imprisoned it, suddenly appeared in front the trapped creature. The dragon ceased its struggle and stared deep into his captor's eyes. Stoick stared back at the dragon knowing that his time as chief was over and that his life was about to end. He knew that he had shown the black dragon nothing but hate and contempt since the time of its capture and so he felt sure that the black beast would surely kill him as soon as it was free.

The Viking Chief steeled himself for his coming death with the knowledge that after he was gone, the dragon would go to Hiccup; although it pained him to think about what would happen to his son as he hopelessly fought the giant beast. Surely his son would lose and surely he and his friends would die but the distraction that they provided would allow the rest of the tribe more time to flee to the far side of the island; much more time than Stoick and Gobber could ever dream of achieving by themselves. He felt so proud of the young man that his boy had turned into, and he felt so ashamed that he had called the boy a traitor. Hiccup was a true son of a chief; putting the lives and welfare of the tribe ahead of his own.

Stoick grabbed the side hinge of the stock collar with his huge calloused hands and strained his arms against the wood and metal struggling with all his might. The collar finally gave way with a jolt and the dragon was free and so, without hesitation the mighty beast leapt out of its bonds straight towards the man who had tormented it all the way from Berk to the island of dragons, but instead of killing him, the creature shot to the surface with Stoick held firmly but gently in its claws. With a loud splash the pair arced though the air and onto the shore. Again Stoick found himself in utter disbelief for not only had the beast spared his life, but moreover it had saved him from drowning.

The Viking Chiefs mind raced with the realisation that his son was right and dragons were not what Stoick had thought them to be. He pulled himself up onto to his feet and ran to where the boy and dragon were preparing to fly off into battle, and to what Stoick was sure would be their certain doom.

"Hiccup" he called as he grabbed the boys wrist "I'm sorry... f-for everything".

"Yeah me too" his son replied.

"You don't have to go up there"

"We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard"

"I'm proud... to call you my son". Stoick let go of the boy's wrist.

"Thanks Dad" the black dragon crouched down, looked up to the sky and shot into the air like a bolt from a crossbow.

So fast did the Night Fury climb into the sky that Stoick soon lost sight of it so he turned back to see the other Dragon Riders in their continuing battle with the giant dragon and his heart both leapt into his mouth and skipped a beat as his eyes took in what his mind refused to believe.

Only two of the four dragons that had flown to the rescue were still in the air, Astrid on her Deadly Nadder and the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut on the necks of the Zippleback. Fishlegs dragon, the boulder like Gronckle, lay upside down on the pebble covered beach as the boy attempted to turn the brownish dragon back onto its feet, but the sight that Stoick was having the most difficulty in believing was that of Snotlout Jorgensen; the boy who had been riding the Monstrous Nightmare was now running across the head of the giant dragon. He ran as fast as one could manage under the circumstances while Ruffnut and Tuffnut guided their Zippleback in a wide arc around in front of the giant dragon and dove with a loud SWOOOOSSHH down towards the beast's snout. Just as Snotlout ran out of dragon head, he threw himself into the air and met the Zippleback flying the opposite way neatly at the point where its two necks joined its body. The long snake-like dragon looped once more around the massive head of the giant dragon, carrying its three passengers away to safety while Astrid brought up the rear to cover the escape.

Astrid had always taken her training as a warrior very seriously and as a result of the extra time she would regularly put in, she possessed the most incredible sense of balance. This skill now enabled the novice Dragon Rider to fly her dragon in a series of quick moves designed and intended to lead the monsters attention away from the fleeing trio on the overburdened Zippleback. Stoick had only recently discovered that his son had been training and riding a dragon several weeks and the inexperience of the other riders was obvious; even to someone who had never seen anybody ride a dragon before today, but Astrid's skill was truly something to behold as she leant her upper body to the left and right, guiding the Deadly Nadder in broad sweeping movements.

In such a short of time, she had formed a strong bond with her flying mount and the pair moved in perfect unison through the sky but the battle was about to take a turn that no amount of flying skill or experience could hope to avoid. Stoick noticed the giant dragon had been somewhat dazed and surprised by all the commotion that had been going on around it, but now the beast appeared to compose itself and set its sights on the one annoying little pest still within its reach; Astrid.

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	2. Chapter 2

2 Astrids Rescue

Snotlout and the twins were safely away (although in this case safe was a relative term) and Astrid believed that she and her dragon had also put enough distance between themselves and the angry monster behind them to be out of immediate danger, but there were many things about the greenish grey giant with the blood red thorns that were unknown, and one of those vital pieces of knowledge was the immense capacity of its lungs.

The giant did not snap its massive jaw to snatch the Nadder and its rider from the sky, nor did it sweep its giant claw to swat them as they flew by; the beast simply stood its ground, opened its cavernous mouth and began to inhale. Slowly at first, the breeze in Astrid's face simply began to change from the forward motion of her dragon to the increasing rush of wind that was moving past her and into the ever expanding lungs of the monolith. Her expression began to change from grim determination to genuine terror as she felt her dragon's forward momentum diminish to the point that they were now slowly moving backward toward the jaws that would bring about her total destruction. Desperately she coaxed the panting Nadder to fly faster but this only slowed the progression they made back towards the mouth of the monster.

Stoicks despair was almost complete; the other Vikings had stopped fleeing as they had been ordered, to watch their children fighting the giant dragon from the backs of beasts that the Vikings had all come to exterminate, and were attempting to do so just ten minutes ago. Stoick had expected to die in battle before now but instead he was left standing on the shore too far away to be of any help, and watching a young girl being pulled into the jaws of a beast whose existence he still found hard to believe. He even doubted that this dragon had any right to exist.

The shocked crowd of onlookers just stood and stared at the drama unfolding before them when suddenly a few began to notice something, a very familiar something. That something was a distant sound and it was the very sound that every Viking had come to fear every since the first time they had heard it. It was a distant whistle that grew into a high pitched whine, that grew into a screaming growl and it still struck terror into their hearts; it was the sound of the Night Fury. Every other time they had heard this sound, the Vikings would not have had any hope of seeing the attack as the Night Fury had only ever struck under the cover of the darkest nights, but now in the daylight they searched the sky expecting to see much more. To their surprise, they still could not see any visual sign of the slender black beast until a few noticed a small dot in the distant sky that moved at such a high speed, no one had thought it possible before that day. The noise grew to a deafening roar as the black streak, wings folded back to its side, flew straight at the giants head. With a loud explosive thud, the Night Fury sent out a powerful shot of glowing blue plasma flame that exploded on the mighty beast's lower jaw with such a force, that the giant dragon was briefly stunned.

The shockwave of the Night Fury plasma blast hit Astrid and her dragon less than a second later pushing them away from the giant dragons gaping mouth. The Deadly Nadder was both stunned and exhausted as it tumbled down toward the beach while Astrid flew almost straight up into the air tumbling over and over. The Night Fury spread its wings wide to slow its flight, banked back and flew straight up; as its upward momentum slowed the dragon turned back toward the ground and once more pulled its wings into its body and began to rapidly pick up speed as it dropped toward the ground. Astrid too, was now falling back to earth as the plunging Night Fury spread its long black wings and levelled off again, while setting itself on a high speed course to intercept the falling girl. With a speed and agility such as Stoick had never seen before, the dragon caught Astrid deftly by her left leg and sped away from the dazed giant behind them.

Stoick the Vast could do nothing but stare from atop his rock near the still burning ships, as the battle unfolded before eyes. Impressed as he was with the dragon handling skills Astrid had shown, the demonstration that his son was now giving was truly amazing. The Night Fury that the boy was riding was missing the left side of its tailfin and the artificial replacement that Hiccup had made was being controlled by the boys foot movements and a series of metal rods and leather straps connecting the tail to the stirrup, so to achieve all the deft manoeuvres Stoick was witnessing, both rider and dragon needed to truly act as one. As the Viking Chief watched in awe, the dragon flicked the girl hanging beneath it into a gentle half turn and caught her again by the left arm while holding her waist lightly in its powerful rear claws. The dragon spread wide its wings and slowed itself down so it could lower Astrid on the pebbles at the pace of a brief sprint, safely well away from the giant beast.

It appeared to Stoick that next to no time had passed between Astrid being saved and the Night Fury's complete and total disappearance back into the clouds; its speed was so great that it would take to the sky and become nothing but a tiny black dot in a matter of seconds, but of course it also took no time before the Chief could once more hear the sound of a Night Fury attack dive. Toothless and Hiccup were defiantly coming in faster this time and Stoick doubted that lightning could match them for speed. The blue flash of the plasma blast attack hit the flank of the giant dragon so hard that it actually fell to one side, but this did not hurt it however and they only succeeded in making the beast even angrier.

Then for the first time, Stoick saw that this was not merely a giant beast that stood in front of the mountain, but a true dragon in every sense of the name as from along its body, the monster unfolded the mightiest pair of wings he had ever seen. This was a creature that stood ten times higher than the mast of his longship and from where he stood, it obscured his view of the mountain from which it had emerged. The fact that it had wings and was now taking to the air right before his eyes, filled Stoick with such dread that he was temporarily frozen to the spot. All hope was now gone; there could be no escape, for even if the Vikings somehow managed to beat the odds and leave the island, the monster would surely follow and destroy them. A lump formed in Stoicks throat as all seemed lost and his son's valiant efforts would surely come to naught in the end.

Toothless and Hiccup sped away from the lumbering giant and headed out over the bay where huge twisted pillars of rock lay in front of them; remnants of the former island cliff face now long eroded by wind, rain and stormy seas. They rose to over one hundred feet high and although some looked quite frail and ready to topple over in the next high wind, most of the sea stacks stood firm and solid prepared and ready for whatever the next thousand years of wild weather could throw at them in anger. Stoick could see Hiccup leaning forward in the leather saddle firmly attached between the shoulders of his dragon. The two darted left and right, up and down, even rolling completely over to avoid striking the sea stacks while keeping barely out of the reach of the flying mountain behind them. The giant dragon was naturally incapable of making the same complex manoeuvres, but it also had no need to as it smashed through even the largest of the rock towers as if it were made of soft sand, and its progress remained unimpeded as it sought out its prey with no thought of diversion.

Although Stoick had given the order for his people to escape to the far side of the island, most now stood with their chief watching intently as the giant beast flew out over the water slowly picking up speed and closing the gap on the much smaller Night Fury that was being slowed its constant need to change direction, just to avoid the rocks its pursuer simply pushed from its flight path without flinching. The other five dragon riders also stood with their Chief; they cheered and punch the air as Hiccup and Toothless raced by, feeling proud of what had been achieved today. Early that morning they had all leant how to ride on a dragon, and then they had ridden to rescue the tribe; so far they had all survived and the young Vikings felt so confident and such a rush of excitement, that they began to feel sure that they could not loose. Stoick however possessed no such confidence as his experience in battle was telling him that anything could occur at any time, and the slightest slipup or change of luck could put a warrior into a position from which there could be no recovery.

The head of the pursuing giant struck one of the sea stacks that Toothless had just flown around, with a loud crashing thud and the Viking crowd were forced to turn away as dust and rock rained down upon them. The Chief's heart began to race at the thought that one wrong turn could put the tiny heroes in range of the beast's massive jaws when, as if they were aware of his fear, the dragon and its rider changed both direction and tactic turning skyward as fast as Toothless could lift them, but certain death flew close behind them in pursuit.

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	3. Chapter 3

3 Battle in the Clouds

The wings of the pursuing dragon appeared to slow but with each beat, the wind that those mighty wings created churned the sea into clusters of small whirlpools and several Vikings were even blown over backward. Toothless flew fast and high into the thick dark grey clouds followed closely behind by the monster, until both dragons were completely out of sight to the Vikings left down below on the rocky beach. Stoick just stood there with his people staring at the empty sky with only the slow rhythmic whoosh of giant wings emitting from the clouds to give them all any clue as to where the beast was. At the Chiefs side, Astrid began to fret; while she could still see Hiccup, victory seemed within reach but now, even though she was surrounded by people, Astrid felt completely alone. She wished she possessed the courage to take her Chiefs hand as a comfort to them both, but she could not bring herself to show any sign of fear or weakness to those around her; so is the fate of the warrior, even if she is just fourteen years old and very, very scared.

It felt to all as if an eternity was passing by as the Vikings continued to stare upward, unable to see but hypnotised by the sound of the giant wings emitting from the clouds. Astrid was totally unaware of the fact that she had completely stopped breathing some time ago, when at last came the sound of hope that she had been desperate to hear. From deep within the clouds, the screaming whine of the Night Fury attack filled the air and soon after, the blue light of its plasma flame flashed from left to right and exploded into a massive yellow fire ball on the side of the enemy dragon. A second explosion followed soon after, then a third. Each attack lit up the clouds so brightly, that the monsters shadowy silhouette was imprinted on the sky for all to see. Astrid soon lost count of the Night Furies repeated attacks, when the events changed so suddenly, that all who witnessed it found it difficult to accurately follow the chain of events as they unfolded.

The giant dragon found itself in the same position as the Vikings on the ground; it could not follow the speed of the attacks it was enduring. Unwilling to restrain itself any longer, the beast inhaled until its lungs were ready to burst and it began to throw out one long, massive flame; the beast twisted and turned in the air in a desperate attempt to fill the cloud with so much fire, that even the fastest dragon could not escape its wrath.

A collective gasp arose from the Vikings as Hiccup and Toothless emerged from the glowing yellow clouds. A dragon skin is tough and has a great resistance to heat and flame but half of Toothless's tail was not dragon skin; it was made of thick, dark brown leather and it glowed as white as a lantern burning in the overcast sky. It appeared at first to those on the ground to be like a guiding light that dropped down from out of the clouds to lead the giant beast straight down toward the island below, but as it grew nearer, all could see it for what it was; Toothless's tail blazing a trail through the sky as Hiccup drove him on down, down, faster and faster. The wings of both dragons beat as fast as each could manage and the gap between them became smaller and smaller.

Soon another sound joined the cacophony in the sky, and it was a sound that Astrid had only recently learnt to fear. The giant dragon had opened its mouth and was beginning to fill its massive lungs with air as Toothless and hiccup came ever closer to the monstrous jaws. The beast had no intention of eating them as it did with Astrid and her Dragon, for its anger was so great toward the presumptuous pair that it planned to burn them so fiercely, that no trace of dragon or rider would ever be seen or heard from again.

The mouth began to fill with the methane gas that the giant dragon produced in glands at the top of its throat; it continued to inhale and fill its lungs with the mix of air and methane that would enable the giant to create and throw its flames. It readied itself to let go of enough fire to burn the entire island, but before it could begin to exhale, the Vikings witnessed Hiccup leant sharply to the right, turning both he and Toothless completely upside-down. The small black dragon took quick aim and sent a glowing shot of blue plasma flame straight back into the cavernous, gas filled mouth. So close were the two dragons that Toothless could not miss and the gas began to ignite across the width of the surprised dragons jaw and deep into its throat and lungs. The Night Fury spun back upright again as Hiccup pulled back on the reigns and instantly leant hard back; in response Toothless spread his wings and positioned them firmly against their direction of travel.

With a loud 'Whomp' the wings formed into a pair of long black parachutes causing Hiccup and Toothless's decent to slow so rapidly that they flew straight back into the monsters mouth. Astrid gasped in horror at the sight, but the shockwave from the explosion emitting from the dragons mouth caught the pair and threw them straight out the right side of the mighty jaws, and back over the beasts head in a similar manor as had happened to her. Toothless turned back to sky and began to fly up the neck and back of the monster but it was too late.

The giant dragon spread its wings in a vain attempt to slow its uncontrollable descent, but its mind was still unaware of the fact that its body was already dead. Inside the beast, the gas filled lungs were still in the act of exploding and unstoppable flame was spreading within its body even to the point of burning large, gaping holes in its wings. The end finally came for the monster as it at last ran out of sky, striking its head on the ground at the base of its mountain home splitting its sides and releasing the explosion of flame into the surrounding air.

Hiccup and Toothless continued flying skyward, but soon found themselves completely surrounded by the ever expanding flame; from her vantage point by the sea Astrid and the others could just make out the small black figures desperately keeping ahead of the fireball. The pair raced upward along the back and tail of the giant dragon, but the end of that tail was just like a giant mace and almost as large as the dragons own head, and now that the monster had struck the ground, that tail began to bend in an arc over Hiccups head. Instantly he pushed down on his heel while lifting his toe moving the connecting rods that controlled his dragons burning tail allowing Toothless to turn left and fly around the giant tail falling toward them, but as Toothless began his turn, the burning leather tail reached its end as the last pieces fell away from the skeletal metal struts, meaning that they could fly up no longer; the boy and dragon fell back and were struck hard by the giant wrecking ball tail.

Astrid could not stop herself; she called his name as she watched Hiccups lifeless body fall backward into the still growing explosion. Toothless flew back down, but the boy disappeared into the flames a split second ahead of his dragon; a dragon that with the loss of its tail, could no longer fly in any direction but down. The explosion continued to its eventual conclusion, covering the island and surrounding waters in thick smoke and falling ash. All fell still; all was quiet. How much time it took for Astrid to emerge from the state of shock she was in, she could not tell and so she just stood there saying nothing and felling nothing.

Yesterday... Astrid had fallen in love.

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	4. Chapter 4

4 Frustration thy name is Hiccup.

Hiccup had always been a very interesting boy; clumsy but interesting, and although he and Astrid had been friends for their entire lives, he had not always made it easy for her - even the timing of his birth was incredibly inconvenient.

A little over fifteen years ago, the Isle of Berk had suffered through one of the toughest winters in living memory; the sea ice was so thick and the snow was so deep, that neither the Vikings nor their animals went outside for several months. Fortunately for the people who dwell there, Stoick the Vast had prepared the village and its people for this very situation. Several years ago, the digging of small tunnels to link the Great Hall, the forge, the main barn, food store and four village houses had begun. The reason why Stoick had ordered the construction of this vital piece of infrastructure was that five villagers had been lost during a similarly hard winter back when Stoick was only twelve years old; one of these was his own beloved Grandfather who froze to death while attempting to fetch supplies from the village food storehouse. Although the project was not yet complete, there were then enough tunnels running beneath Berk to allow all the Vikings in the village and their animals stay safely inside during the freezing winter storms.

Much to everyones delight, late in the following autumn, Berk enjoyed a larger than normal number of babies being born. The first to arrive was Hiccup, followed within four days by Snotlout Jorgensen. Tuffnut Thorston and his twin sister Ruffnut came into the village two days later, with little Fishlegs Ingerman a week behind; although he didn't remain little for very long. Three weeks after Hiccup was born to the Chief and his wife Valka, Astrid finally arrived in the Hofferson household to complete the six who soon became known as the winter babies and they all spent much of their time together, especially after the dragon attacks that the village would regularly suffer from; each mother would take a turn in caring for the babies while the others would help to clean up and rebuild the village. This arrangement worked out very well for everyone involved, until the day of Stoicks tragedy when during one of the dragon attacks, the Chief's house was destroyed, little Hiccup was injured and Valka was carried off by a large Stormcutter dragon never to be seen again. This left Hiccup to spend much of his time being cared for by the other four winter mothers during Stoick time of grief, although he did continue to take good very care of his people as Chief.

It had always seemed quite normal for Astrid to have a group of close friends her own age around her while most of the other children in the small village often had to find friends a few years younger or older than they were themselves. Astrids troubles with Hiccup began when she was about to turn seven. The other winter children had celebrated their birthdays already, and while she helped her mother to set up for her own party, she made an innocent observation.

"I wish I wasn't always the last one to have my birthday party."

"Well, you wouldn't be but Hiccup just couldn't wait to be born" her mother replied casually.

"What do you mean?" Astrid shot back.

"Well we weren't expecting him to arrive for another month but unlike you, he couldn't wait"

"Unlike me? What do you mean?"

"You my sweet were four weeks late, and so we all thought you would never get around to being born."

A look of intense concentration came over Astrid's face as she did the calculations in her head followed by a look horror.

"I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE OLDEST" she protested.

She was chastised by her mother for shouting but the worst was soon to come.

"HICCUP SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE YOUNGEST, NOT ME" came the only reply.

Astrid's mother sighed as her head drooped; why had she said anything? It was only a conversation she told herself. Explanations of the unpredictability of pregnancy and statements that it was not anyone's fault, particularly Hiccups, were not heard through the rage of the six year and three hundred and sixty four day old girl, and so Astrid spent most of the next day staring at Hiccup with a seething hatred that took over seven years to subside completely.

* * *

Life took a very strange turn for Astrid at the age of thirteen when Snotlout, who had always been a show off, started trying to impress her with crazy stunts while constantly staring at her with a smile that would turn Yaks milk into yogurt. When she told her mother all about Snotlout, and of how she could never walk passed the blacksmiths forge without seeing Hiccup out of the corner of her eye watching her intently, the older lady had tried to explain the ways of boys and men, but had to admit in the end that she didn't really understand them either and so Astrid decided to avoid them both for the next year or so.

Eventually Astrid began to consider what she would like to do as she grew to adulthood; it was a foregone conclusion that she would be a Viking warrior, but would she choose to marry and if so, then to whom? Snotlout of course already assumed it would be to him, but the thought of it made her feel a little queasy. Hiccups crush had grown stronger every day and although she liked him, Astrid could do almost everything better than he could and that, she was sure, was not the way it should be. What's more, every time the dragons attacked and Hiccup tried to help, he ended up doing almost as much damage as the dragons did. As for the other two boys, Fishlegs was more interested in his collection of dragon facts and figurines, and Tuffnut only wanted to fight (with his sister mostly) and then brag about his injuries afterwards, so they were both out of the picture as far as Astrid was concerned.

One thing in Hiccups favour though, was his skill as the Blacksmiths apprentice. Once when Gobber the Belch was out fishing, she had given her mother's best battleaxe to Hiccup for sharpening and when it was returned to her, it felt just like a new axe; Shiny, sharp and perfectly balanced. At first she suspected that it was a new axe but just above the handle grip were the notches her mother had carved to show how many dragons she had despatched with it. A husband with these skills would be very handy indeed as she would always have the best weapons on Berk, but Astrid could not help but think that there should be more to a successful marriage than having the best weapons, and not everything he made turned out anywhere near as well.

* * *

On the night of the last dragon attack, Hiccup was seen running off to the high cliff top near the sea with what appeared to be some kind of strange cross between a log and a wheelbarrow, only to return a few minutes later without his contraption and running at full speed from a pursuing Monstrous Nightmare. The chaotic scene that followed ended with one of the village's huge torches being destroyed and a trio of captured Deadly Nadders being allowed to escape while carrying away the net, which should have held the marauding dragons, now filled with several of Berks sheep.

After this fiasco, Astrid was totally flabbergasted that Hiccup was chosen to join her and the others in the dragon battle training arena, and that first day of training was truly a genuine disaster. Gobber assumed the role of teacher and decided to throw them straight into the deep end by releasing an angry Gronckle into the ring. Every one of Astrid's friends proceeded to do absolutely everything, except what they should; the twins started fighting with each other, and then Fishlegs turned his back on the dragon just to answer a question, and barely avoided being shot in the back with a chunk of hot lava. When the Gronckle turned and came at Astrid, Snotlout was flirting with her and Hiccup as always, was Hiccup; the beast managed to pin the Chiefs son to the wall of the arena and was about to remove his head when Gobber quickly grabbed the Gronckle's jaw with the shining hook that was his left hand, and the molten lava struck inches above Hiccups head.

The next day found the trainees moving stealthily through a tall wooden maze that had been set up in the training arena. They were being stalked by a Deadly Nadder and as usual, Fishlegs was screaming, the twins were fighting and Snotlout was flirting, but Hiccup's actions were the most puzzling of all; the boy just stood in one spot and looked up at Gobber while asking stupid questions about Night Furies. What was he thinking? The Vikings did not even have any Night Furies in the arena and Hiccups inattention almost got both he and Astrid killed. This fool was really beginning to annoy her, and what's more, now he was disappearing into the forest every day after training.

The third day of training changed everything when the six trainees were put up against a Hideous Zippleback; a long tall dragon with two heads and no fear of young Vikings. At first the dragon had managed to get the best of all the trainees, and it even managed to get its teeth into Tuffnut, but then to everyones surprise, Hiccup just stood unarmed before the beast with his hands raised; forcing it by sheer will alone to move back into its prison. The other trainees and their instructor stood in awe and were unable to close their gaping mouths, while Hiccup simply locked the door of the cage and ran off to who knows where.

The next few days of training were like a new kind of hell for Astrid; on the first day Hiccup brought down the Gronckle by apparently just looking at it, and on the next he dropped the Deadly Nadder completely unarmed just as Astrid lunged at the creature with her mother's sharp, shiny and perfectly balanced battleaxe. Jealousy grew and festered within Astrid as the other trainees began to look past her and on to Hiccup as the new star of the arena. That jealousy turned into seething rage after Hiccup managed to turn away the attack of a Terrible Terror by simply wiggling his shield at it; Tuffnut had then declared that Hiccup was now better than Astrid had ever been.

The angry young girl attempted to quell her rage later that day by retreating deep into the forest with an old throwing axe; over and over again Astrid would hurl the axe into the trees while imagining that she could see Hiccups grinning face in every trunk. Then she would roll over in a weapon dodging manoeuvre to retrieve the axe before throwing it at the next tr... wait... what was Hiccup doing out here... and what was that bundle he carried. The startled boy looked back toward her, gave an innocent looking sheepish grin, and trotted off beyond a nearby boulder. Pulling herself together, Astrid ran to the rock, climbed it and peered over only to find that Hiccup had gone, disappearing completely into the forest.

Astrid was beginning to feel that Hiccups behaviour was getting monotonous and boring, when later that evening, while walking by the Blacksmiths forge, she heard a clatter from within.

"Hiccup?" she called,"Are you in there?"

The boy jumped out the window and quickly closed the shutter behind him. "Astrid, hey" he said with surprise. "Hi... Astrid, hi Astrid, hi... Astrid.

"I normally don't care what people do, but your acting weird" she noted "well... weirder."

Astrid watched amazed as Hiccup rose with a jerk two feet off the ground and disappeared backward through the shutters. She ran to the window and threw it open but the forge was empty. 'That did it' she decided; Astrid would find out what he was up to, even if it killed her in the process.

* * *

"Stay out of my way" Astrid demanded the next day "I'm winning this thing".

On the day of the final test, only the top two trainees were allowed into the arena; Astrid and Hiccup. Stoick the Vast had returned late on the previous day leading back a fleet of burned and battered Longships. He had been so despondent upon his arrival because his failure to find and destroy the dragons nest, but his solemn mood had changed dramatically when he found out how well his son was doing in battle training. Stoick watched intently as the two young Vikings moved quietly and with purpose through the arena while the large yellowish brown Gronckle flew slowly around the inner rim. Hiccup appeared to give in to Astrid's earlier threat by staying well out of her way; he stood aside and waved to his father with that annoyingly sheepish grin Astrid had grown to loath.

Moving away from him, Astrid hid behind one of the short wooden hurdles that were scattered around the arena, while the dragon swept around behind Hiccup. She crept from wall to tiny wall, moving in behind the round and heavy beast. This was it; she was in the perfect position and the dragon was totally distracted. Astrid leapt out from behind the wall and with her axe raised, she vaulted a second wall and ran screaming at the unfortunate dragon, only to stop dead in her tracks with her eyes wide in disbelief. Before her on its side, lay the Gronckle; it purred happily while Hiccup just stood there looking very scared; not of the dragon, but of her.

Astrid, for want of a better term, lost it; totally and completely. Swinging her axe around her head, she stomped on the ground while Viking mothers covered their children's ears against the tirade of profanity emitting from the pretty blonde girl in the arena below.

* * *

**Are you the mother of a young child on Berk? Do you want to protect your child from the constant stream of bad language emitting from the training arena?**

**Then you need Gobbers new 'Astrid Proof Headphones'. Simply place the device delicately over your little kiddie's ears and he or she will be lulled off to sleep by the comforting sound of a Monstrous Nightmare trying to sing 'Rock-a-by baby' in E minor. (no responsibility will be taken if your child should develop night terrors from the use of this product)**


	5. Chapter 5

5 A Change of Heart.

An hour after her humiliation in the arena, Astrid waited in the forest near the rock Hiccup that had passed by the day before. She felt sure that he would return that way to continue with whatever mischief he was up to; this time she would catch him and find out exactly what it was. Soon she heard the sound of foot falls moving in the distance and so she retreated into the shadow of a tall pine tree. A few seconds later, Hiccup rushed by carrying a large woven basket, totally unaware of the fact that he was being so closely observed as he mumbled to himself about the disaster his life had turned into. Astrid kept close and quiet determined not to let him get away, but Hiccup was so preoccupied that she could have been riding a Yak with a bad cough and he never would have noticed.

Astrid knew they had reached their destination when Hiccup climbed down into a shallow sinkhole about thirty feet below the forest floor and his mumbling turned into a loud rant about going away forever. She sat down on a large rock near to where Hiccup had dropped his basket, picked up a smooth stone and began to sharpen her axe in a menacing kind of way.

At the first sound of stone honing steel, Hiccup jumped up so startled that he almost tripped over. Astrid was a little surprised that he did not protest at being followed, but instead began to stutter a pleasant greeting while looking around nervously. Dropping down from the rock, Astrid began to walk menacingly toward him, all the time demanding answers to his odd behaviour but he just continued to stammer. It was obvious to Astrid that every word he spoke was a lie; desperately being made up on the spot to divert her attention from the rustling sound coming from the shadows thirty feet away. Suddenly a dark shape moved into the light filling Astrid with terror; yes it was a dragon, but it was a dragon unlike any she had ever seen before. It looked like a lizard but moved like a cat even down to the twitch in its tail. Astrid moved quickly and with purpose as she threw Hiccup to the ground before rolling back onto her feet ready to defend them both. The beast charged letting out a mighty roar as it ran; she drew back her axe ready to strike, when the unbelievable happened.

Hiccup jumped up between them, but it was not the girl he was protecting, it was the dragon. The beast reared up as Hiccup pushed Astrid down and threw her axe away, then a realisation came to her mind; at the time of the last dragon attack before they had begun training, Hiccup had claimed to have shot down a Night Fury causing everyone to laugh and mock him, but could it be true? Could this black dragon, of a type she had never seen before, that Hiccup referred to as Toothless, be the elusive Night Fury and if so, then why was Hiccup protecting it? For the first time that day Astrid was at a total loss as to what she should say or do, so she just turned and ran. She was still shaking as she climbed out of the sink hole; she kept asking herself 'How?' and 'Why?' as she ran up the hill. The village had to know, and she had to be the one to tell them.

Astrid's heart raced as she ran up the hill away from the forest glade; she reached the crest of a rise and vaulted over a moss covered log but before her feet made contact with the ground again, she felt a sudden firm pressure on her right shoulder as she was lifted into the air. A cry of terror filled the forest; Astrid fully expected the dragon to kill her on the spot, but instead it simply lifted her slowly into the air before depositing her roughly near the top of a Fir tree. The black dragon then settled itself high on the very same tree as Astrid glanced up and saw to her surprise, that Hiccup was riding and controlling the dragon. The tree bent and groaned under the weight of the three as Hiccup attempted to tell Astrid all about his new friend, but she was not in any mood to listen to his explanations. Astrid was having incredible difficulty comprehending all that was unfolding before her; her lifelong friend, who had been training by her side to kill dragons and protect Berk, was now riding one of the most feared of all dragons.

Hiccup eventually conceded to her demands and agreed to take her back down to the forest floor. Pulling herself up onto the branch she had been hanging from, Astrid swatted away the hand of help being offered by her former friend as she climbed up behind him and onto the dragons back. 'I must be crazy' she thought as Hiccup gave his dragon the order to take them down.

Slowly and smoothly, the Night Fury unfurled its long black wings and caught the breeze, slowly lifting the trio's weight from the strained tree; Astrid's heart was beating so hard that she could almost hear it from within her chest. Then without warning, the beast lifted its wings high above her head and with one beat, leapt almost straight up into the air. Astrid found herself screaming once more; there were very few times in her life that could compare with the terror that she was now experiencing.

First came the vertical climb, followed immediately by the power dive. Several times the wild creature would turn completely upside-down while close to the surface of the sea; her head was slammed into the water making Astrid feel like she was drowning. Hiccup shouted orders at the beast in a desperate attempt to calm it down, but the dragon was no longer listening to him. As it took to the heights of the sky once more, it began to spin with such ferocity that Astrid was not sure if she could maintain the hold she had on Hiccups chest, or even keep her lunch where it was now. Still spinning, the dragon turned back to toward the sea and Astrid began to sob; she buried her head into Hiccups back and cried out desperately.

"Okay... I'm sorry... I'm sorry; just get me off of this thing."

She could not notice the change at first because her eyes were shut tight. Her heart was still racing, but the dragon had stopped spinning and had levelled off with its wings spread wide. The Night Fury now rode smoothly on the wind and although the wild ride had lasted less than a minute, it had felt to Astrid like it would never end. With her eyes still closed she began to wonder; during the flight, the dragon did not appear to be listening to Hiccup, but it had become calm as soon as Astrid had apologised. Did this mean that it could understand her, and did it see her as some kind of threat?

'I did charge at it with an axe' she thought 'and I did push Hiccup down, but could a person really say sorry to a dragon... and would it really understand?'

Astrid slowly opened her eyes only to discover that she was not on the ground, she was not back in the tree either, but was instead still flying with her face only a few inches away from the clouds. They rolled past above her much faster than she could run, and yet it felt like she was all barely moving at all. Astrid lifted up her hands and marvelled at the sight of the misty cloud swirling around her fingertips and forming tiny little eddies behind her.

The sun was low in the evening sky and it had turned the clouds into a bright fiery orange. From the Isle of Berk, clouds were mostly a single solid grey mass but from up above, they formed at different heights with swirling pillars and windblown tunnels. Astrid soon realised that she and Hiccup must be the first people in all of human history to ever see the clouds like this, and the dragon that she had earlier attempted to kill was now freely giving her the most amazing gift she had ever received. Astrid looked down into the dragon's big green eye and smiled; Toothless could not talk and she did not know its thoughts, but somehow Astrid seemed to understand that it wanted to show her more.

In one long deliberate movement the dragon flew down and began to pick up speed; arcing its back, it climb up and over backwards in a giant loop that felt so smooth, it seemed as if she was still, and the world was turning around her. Hiccup remained silent as he urged the creature higher until they finally burst through above the clouds where to Astrid surprise, they left the sun setting below them and were now presented with the brightest stars she had ever seen shining in the night sky with nothing above her to obscure the view.

The Northern Lights shone brightly; illuminating the sky in the brightest pinks and greens as the trio flew on, but soon the scene changed again and Astrid could see her home in a new and magical way; the likes of which she could never have imagined before. From her high vantage point, Astrid could see that the island of Berk with its forests and mountains, beaches and cliffs was so much smaller and more vulnerable than she had ever imagined, and the lights that shone from the village were so incredibly beautiful.

Astrid slipped her arms around Hiccup waist and lightly placed her chin on his shoulder; now she knew precisely how he was controlling the dragons in the arena and why. They could be tamed and they could be trained, and Hiccup was not trying to show her up in front of the others as she had supposed. She had misjudged him and treated him unfairly; for he was right and she had to admit it, but what of tomorrow? With Stoick the Vast back on Berk, the time had come for Hiccup to show his skills and kill a dragon in front of the entire village.

There must be a way; they simply must be able to change everyone, just as she had been changed.

Before Astrid had any time to consider what could be done, a chattering noise began to rise up all around her and Toothless became very agitated. The dragon looked around and immediately dove sharply into the thick sea fog below. The menacing noise and Toothless's strange behaviour made Astrid shiver, and her demeanour did not improve when through the fog, she saw the silhouettes of many other dragons. Another raid on the village must have just taken place as each dragon carried its prey held tightly within its powerful talons; some carried cattle or sheep from the village while others had taken wild boar, fish and even sharks.

Astrid had only just begun to think about dragons in a different light, but now some doubts were rising; where was Toothless taking them, and would they be able to turn back before the other dragons turned on them? They flew on and on into the night until at last Astrid's eyes made something out through the mist that she had never seen before; she had heard about these special mountains that glowed red, and from which molten rock flowed, but she had not expected to see one that night. Astrid felt sure that nothing else could surprise her that night until Toothless dived and flew deep inside the volcano; he had taken them to his home to learn the long hidden truth.

* * *

On the long flight back to Berk, there was much more time for talk; talk of the monster they had just seen, talk of the discovery about the miserable lives of the long misunderstood dragons, and talk of the link between the two, but the one thing they did not discuss was what should be done about it; for as far as Astrid was concerned, no discussion was needed. The village must be awoken and the Chief must be told; there could be no other course of action, so when Hiccup tried to stop her, Astrid was more than just a little surprised.

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons nest." she exclaimed. "The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here... and you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon?" she pointed to Toothless. "Are you serious?"

Hiccup turned to look at her with grim determination on his face. He didn't try to argue, and he didn't try to make his case; he simply said "Yes".

The young girl's eyes widened as she stared into his. Later she would remember. She would look back at that moment in time and she would know; that was the very moment she had fallen in love.

* * *

**Have you witnessed a dragon related crime? Do you know the location of the Red Death Gangs hideout? Then you should contact Police Lieutenant Gobber at Crime Stoppers c/- the Berk P.D.**

**All information is treated as confidential and yes; you can remain anonymous. You could be eligible for a reward of up to Y500 (five hundred Yaks) for any information leading to the conviction of any dragon or person known to be harbouring a dragon fugitive (but don't look for the one armed man – that's Gobber)**


	6. Chapter 6

6 The Miracle of Dragon Island

Dust and ash settled all around as the Vikings slowly emerged from their stunned silence and began to take stock of their situation. Victory had come, but nobody cheered; the long nightmare was over, but no one felt like celebrating. No longer would they sleep lightly in their beds in constant fear of the next dragon attack, but no one yet realised that fact.

Together they had stood behind their Chief as he bravely led the charge against the hated foe, so together they had discovered the horrific truth and what followed on Dragon Island would never be forgotten; it could never be forgotten. The entire army of brave, steadfast Viking warriors, the strongest women and men, the most skilled of all fighters, the best the Isle of Berk could give, had just been saved by six children not yet fifteen years of age. These children had saved them by defeating a beast of such incredible size, that no exaggeration would ever be required when the story was later told (although it would often be suspected), and they had done it from the backs of five relatively smaller dragons.

The Chief's son had bravely used the giant dragon's size against; it in a brilliant manoeuvre Hiccup had lead the beast high into the clouds, where he had repeatedly taunted it until it burned with anger before finally diving back to down earth at such a speed, that the giant creature had no hope of ever overcoming its momentum and pulling away from the ground again. It had struck with such force that the entire island was shaken, and almost no one had been able to remain on their feet. The dragons own fire, that it used to destroy the Viking armada, had exploded inside its body thus making sure that nothing would remain to show that this incredible monster had ever even existed; and so with almost no fanfare, the giant dragon passed on into legend.

Astrid Hofferson blinked her eyes; she exhaled and began to breathe again for the first time since she had seen her friend Hiccup fall into the... she stopped, blinked again and started to look around, aware for the first time that people were moving and talking all about her. From the distance, a voice was calling; it was the voice of the Chief, Stoick the Vast calling to his lost boy.

"HICCUP" Astrid could see the people around her were searching also.

"HICCUP" the Chief called once more. "SON!"

The calling ceased. Astrid saw that the crowd had stopped their search and were now coming together twenty yards away; she drew a quick breath. Had they found him? Was he alive?

Desperately the young girl ran forward to where all the people were gathered, and pushed her way to the front; on bursting through the crowd, she came to an abrupt halt. Before her was Stoick the Vast; on his knees, back to the others, head down, a few flakes of ash softly coming to rest on his shoulders, a black dragon lay on the ground in front of him. The hope that had been rising insider her fell back into deep despair, but no tear came. Slowly the dragon lifted its head and opened its eyes while emitting a low and painful moan; it looked straight at Stoick and gave a faint whine, acknowledging his pain.

"My son" Stoick whispered faintly "I'm so sorry".

The dragons eyes opened wider and it slowly spread its wings out to reveal the body of Hiccup; son of Stoick, hero of Berk.

Stoick leapt up and rushed to the dragons side; he knelt back down and gently picked up his son, checking him for any sign of life by throwing his helmet to the ground and placing his head on the boy's chest.

"He's alive" Stoick declared; his voice again like a booming roar and yet still very frail "You brought him back alive".

A huge cheer arose from the crowd behind him while Astrid brought her hands to her face and gasped with relief, a tear at last welling within her eye.

Stoick placed his mighty hand gently on the wounded dragons head.

"Thank you... for saving my son"

Stoicks trusted friend Gobber, to whom Hiccup was apprenticed, looked over his Chiefs shoulder.

"Well... you know, most of him" he noted undiplomatically.

Stoick followed Gobbers gaze and saw that, although the dragon had done its very best to cover the boy entirely, Hiccups left leg had protruded from the safety of the Night Fury's fire proof wings and had been completely burnt off below the knee.

"Quickly Gobber; go see if you can find Olvor".

"Right Chief" Gobber replied and hobbled off to find the Viking surgeon who had taken such wonderful care of his own missing limbs for so many years.

Stoick raised himself up and carried the boy over towards the other Vikings; seeing Hiccups missing leg for the first time, Astrid gasped and her whole body shuddered; a few of the other Vikings had various limbs missing, but none so young and none so close to her. She ran to him and followed closely behind the Chief.

Stoick wanted so much to stay with his boy, but he knew that as Chief, it was his place to put the wellbeing of the entire tribe first, and so he scanned the crowd before him for someone he could entrust with his dear son. Soon he noticed Agnar, who had been the medic on Stoicks flagship, treating one of the warrior's flesh wound.

"Agnar, how does it look, are there any casualties?"

Continuing to treat the arm in his hands, Agnar answered his chief "I haven't seen any yet Stoick, but I've seen a few bad burns from when the fleet went up and a couple of broken limbs." He finished his work and began to rise.

"All in all we appear to have been luck..." seeing the boy in the Chief's arms, Agnar stopped in mid sentence and began to examine Hiccup's leg.

"We're going to need Olvor's skill here."

"Aye, I've sent Gobber to find her" Stoick replied. "It will be dark in a few hours so take the injured back off the beach to the base of the mountain and see if you can get a fire going; we'll make camp there for the night."

"My dragon can make us a fire."

Stoick turned to see where the voice had come from and found young Astrid looking eagerly up at him; Stoick had briefly forgotten that, although he was still the Chief, the world he knew so well had changed abruptly in the last few hours. Looking up, Stoick took in the scene around him; standing in a small group nearby were the four dragons that had been his captives in the training arena back on Berk, and now were standing free and being guarded by Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins while some the tribe looked on in amazement, but a short distance behind them were several wild dragons that had not fled when Stoick's catapults had opened the side of the mountain and the battle had begun. Stoick instantly assumed that a fight was about to break out and he steeled himself once again for battle, when he suddenly realised that these 'wild' dragons were not readying to attack at all. They were simply curious, watching what they too had never experienced; Vikings riding dragons.

"Thank you Astrid" he finally replied "come and see me when you're done."

"Oh" she hesitated "I was going to stay with..." her voice tapered off and a look of realisation came across Stoicks face as he smiled.

"Of course, I'll come and see you later."

His paternal instincts screamed inside of him as he handed his unconscious son over to Agnar, but he knew Hiccup would be taken well care of and he had to see to the welfare of his people; his people... and his dragons? As Astrid ran off to get her Deadly Nadder, Stoick strode over to the group of Vikings who stood nearby and appeared to be discussing the wild dragons in a very nervous way. As he got closer he called out to the other Dragon Riders so the Vikings could also hear him clearly.

"Fishlegs; go and see to Hiccups dragon; it's badly hurt so make it comfortable as best you can lad." He turned to the next boy.

"Snotlout; I want you to take your dragon for a trip around the island and report back anything of importance."

"Right Chief" the two boys replied in unison and flew off to their tasks with pride.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, bring you dragon over here please."

"Coming Chief" shouted Tuffnut.

Stoick turn to the men and women of his tribe and addressed them.

"Two days ago Hiccup tried to warn me of what we would find here, but I did not believe him. He also tried to tell me dragons were different to the way I had thought them to be, but I did not listen because I have lost too many friends, including my own dear Valka to dragon attack. But today I have learnt that just as a man can be good or evil, so it can be with a dragon. I know this won't be easy but these five dragons have shown themselves to be worthy of our trust, and our thanks, so from this time forward let us treat a wild dragon as we would any other wild animal and fight it only if it threatens us."

No cheer came at the end of this short speech, just general murmur of agreement as the people of the tribe considered their future and the wisdom behind Stoicks words. They did feel a certain level of relief to know that they could fight back if they were attacked, but that looked increasingly unlikely as even some of the wild dragons nearby were curling up to rest and appeared to be completely at ease.

"Right then" declared Stoick "Let's get on with salvaging some gear from these ships before we lose the light."

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

7 Beware of the Viking

Toothless lay quietly on his side; a low purring growl coming with every breath. The dragon had fallen hard onto the rocks, its wings folded around Hiccup in a desperate attempt to protect the frail young boy in its grasp from the searing heat of the flames erupting all around them; the only time that the Night Fury had moved since it fell, was to present the boy hurt, but alive to his distraught father.

Fishlegs Ingerman approached the black dragon with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Although he had always wanted to see a Night Fury and study one at close range, he was also very inexperienced with strange dragons, and with the exception of the giant that had just been defeated, they did not come any stranger than a Night Fury. Fishlegs was also extremely aware of how dangerous any wounded animal could be, especially one who could shoot a blue plasma flame straight through the middle of his chest; so he was pleased to know that this wounded animal was accustomed to being in the company of young Vikings.

The Gronckle he had flown all the way from Berk, followed close behind him like a faithful dog (and panted like one too) as Fishlegs began to speak to the Night Fury in comforting tones; he approached slowly while talking so as not to surprise the large black dragon.

"Hey there boy... err... Toothless," he began to mumble to himself "you don't look very toothless to me."

The dragon lifted its head and made a soft growl that made Fishlegs a little surprised, for not only did it seem to accept his approach, but appeared to be fully aware that he was only there to help.

It was only two days ago that Astrid had approached Fishlegs and the other trainees. The Viking fleet had set sail for Dragon Island with Toothless bound and muzzled on the deck of the flagship, and she had told them all about what Stoick did not know. The young Vikings had all been awestruck and almost silent as she spoke of confronting Hiccup about his odd behaviour, her first encounter with the mighty Night Fury, being lifted into the fir tree, and her wild first flight. The small group had become totally enthralled as she spoke of soaring though the clouds, under the moon and over the Isle of Berk. Their chests had begun to tighten as she told them about being surrounded by a hundred dragons bringing in the kill to the volcanic mountain, and he had almost passed out when she revealed to them what she had seen inside.

Fishlegs now found himself kneeling by the creature he had been taught to fear for his entire life; the dragon now seemed so frail to his eyes, and he began to wonder just what it was that he could really do for it. He placed his hand on its head just as he had seen Chief Stoick do, just as his Gronckle came and sat down beside them. Fishlegs looked at the two dragons together, he began to realise that more than anything else, the Night Fury simply needed to be reassured that it was safe, and that it was with friends. Yes; the dragon would not heal if it could not relax, and it would not relax if it was nervous. It was exactly how Fishlegs would feel if he were unwell and vulnerable, so he stood up and looked around the beach as an idea began to form.

* * *

Snotlout lifted into the sky on the back of his Monstrous Nightmare, coaxing it on with every beat of its wings. He may have been the youngest of the Jorgenson clan, but Snotlout was the strongest of the winter children and, as far as he was concerned, the best so it was only right that he had been given the most terrifying, the most confronting dragon of the whole group. It was true that the Night Fury was faster, but it looked like a big black salamander. The Gronckle may be the toughest, but when tamed it acted like a big lumpy puppy. The Hideous Zippleback looked impressive, but was a little clumsy; and as for Astrid's Deadly Nadder, well... it looked like a giant blue chicken. No; to his mind nothing could compare to his own impressive dragon and after all, what kind of name was Toothless anyway? His dragon would have a title that reflected its frightening visage. Monsterface; Blackheart; Megabeast; he considered many names but then remembered what it was that Stoick had told him to do.

Deeply lodged inside Snotlout's mind was the firm belief that the Chief had given him this important task, because none of the others could be trusted with it and the thought made him grin with false pride. Here he was; flying alone while Chief Stoick kept all the others nearby where he could keep an eye them. Snotlout finally overcame his pride and commenced his task of scanning the island; he was finally beginning to get accustomed to being so high off the ground after a fairly shaky start.

Yesterday morning when he had awoken, Snotlout was excitedly expectant of what was to come that day. Astrid Hofferson (or as he liked to think of her; the future Mrs. Snotlout) had regaled him the evening before with an amazing story of a giant dragon that was so big, that she claimed any other dragon could fly straight down its throat without its wings touching the sides. I was true that the other trainees were there as well, but to Snotlout it was like a magical evening that Astrid had planned, just to be with him. He would have found the story hard to believe from anyone else, but she was his lady love and would never lie, well...not to him anyway. Astrid had told them all to get a good night of sleep and to meet up by arena at first light, so after a quick breakfast, he joined up with the others and walked inside the stone walled, cage covered arena only to find Hiccup staring up at the huge iron door that imprisoned the dragons he had been fighting against for the last few weeks.

While Astrid had spent most of the last evening telling them all of her adventure on Dragon Island, the disgraced son of Chief Stoick the Vast had been here in the arena with nothing but a basket full of fish, and a handful of wild grass preparing the dragons. Everyone quivered with anticipation, except for Astrid who just stood there with arms folded and a wry smile on her face.

"Well, what's the plan?" she asked of Hiccup who smiled back and held up a finger in signal for them to wait.

Slowly Hiccup turned the lock wheel and up lifted the pin that held the prison doors fast. Moving to the centre, he pushed one door out then and slipped inside the dark prison from where a low growl came, causing Snotlout to wonder if Hiccup would ever be seen alive again. When he finally stepped back into the light, he was walking backwards with his arm outstretched; his hand was hovering inches above the snout of the red, vicious looking Monstrous Nightmare which followed in his path while looking straight into his eyes.

When Snotlout would later come to tell the story of this first encounter, he would speak of nothing but his own bravery and steadfastness, but in reality the boy began to shake and gave a little whimper as the beast approached; he even tried to pickup half of a broken spear before Astrid stopped him. Hiccup came to a halt allowing the dragon to at last make contact with his hand, but Snotlout gave a strangely quiet yell as Hiccup grabbed his hand and placed it gently on the dragon's nose; a deep purr came from the beast that reverberated all the way up Snotlout's arm, making the boy smile in surprise.

The bonding had begun.

* * *

Most of the fleet had sunk after having been burnt to the water line but some could be pulled up onto the shore because of the anchor chains and ropes that still led from the beach to the sunken wrecks. Stoick had the idea that his people could make good use of the twins Hideous Zippleback, by using the muscular dragon to help pull some of the wrecks ashore. This would also help his Viking warriors become accustomed to working with, and trusting the dragons. It took Ivar the herdsman only ten minutes to fashion a harness from some salvaged rope, but it took another ten to calm the dragon down enough to wear it, thanks mainly to the twins constant arguing and shouting with each other the whole time. The result was well worth the effort however, for although the Vikings could have done the work alone if they had needed too, the help of a powerful dragon made the work much easier. Stoick knew as well, that the sooner everyone started to see the dragons as allies and not a threat, the better off they would all be. Not only that, but the dragon appeared to thrive on the praise and attention it received as it helped, so after they had pulled their third ship ashore, Stoick gave the order for some members of the tribe to begin removing anything of use from the wrecks while the others, now dubbed 'The Dragon Team', continued to pull the ships up onto the beach.

"It'll be dark in about another half hour, so join me at the base of the mountain before then."

"Righty ho Chief" shouted back Sigrid on behalf of the others as Stoick made his way to the glowing camp fires in the distance "We'll see you soon."

* * *

'This is the only way to patrol' Snotlout thought as he soared high above the island on the back of his Monstrous Nightmare.

Dragon Island was not a small place; when the high mountain, the numerous sea stacks and several little islands nearby were combined, it was slightly larger than Berk but Snotlout was able to see almost all of it as he and his dragon rode high on the gentle winds. Two things caught the young man's attention during his short flight; the first of these was the large number of dragons that were returning to the island now that their tormenter was gone, and there were various breeds landing all over the island. Snotlouts second and far more important observation was that twenty or more Vikings were still making for the far side of the island, although he had no idea as to why this was, and so Snotlout decided that the best thing to do was to ask them; as well tell them all about his heroic exploits of course.

It could not be said that Snotlout was a stupid boy, but sometimes his vanity got in the way of common sense. In the past he would never give up an opportunity to tell everyone about his impressive dragon fighting skills, and in the future he would relish in bragging about his talent as a dragon rider, but today was a very exciting time for Snotlout because on this day, he could talk about both; although he probably should not have started with a large group of heavily armed Vikings who still believed that the Dragon War was in full swing.

* * *

Fishlegs studied the wrecked catapults that littered the ground at his feet and picked out two long, sturdy beams and dragged them back to where Toothless lay on the ground placing one on each side, and along the length of the black dragon. He looked around once more and noticed the salvaged shipwrecks on the shore and made his way down to where Sigrid the Strong was directing the two groups of workers and the Hideous Zippleback; Sigrid was an attractive warrior maid of twenty five, who hid her slender figure underneath a thick armoured chest plate and studded leather skirt.

"Excuse me" he called politely for he did not want to get on Sigrid's bad side; Snotlout had once done so only to be found a few hours later hanging by his britches from the mast of a longship.

"What is it lad? Spit it out, we've got work to do" came her short reply.

"Err, Chief Stoick asked me to take care of Hiccups dragon and I, err... need some things from that ship and a little bit of help... please?"

"Take what you need lad" Sigrid replied without looking at him "and please, take Tuffnut with you; that will stop him fighting with his sister and upsetting the dragon" she sighed.

"Thank you Miss Sigrid" he chirped and trotted off to the small pile of recovered items and grabbed a folded sail and a length of rope. He called to Tuffnut for help, and the two returned to Toothless where Fishlegs unfolded the sail behind the resting dragon; he then knelt down by its head and spoke softly.

"Hey Toothless; we're gonna make a big sling for you, and take you to the camp so you can be with us tonight, okay boy?"

Fishlegs had no way of knowing how much Toothless understood, but he felt much better for having tried.

"Wadda ya want do?" Tuffnut asked as he pondered the sail, the beams and the dragon.

"We have to get Toothless onto this sail, so we can get him up to the campsite" Fishlegs stated as clearly as he could but with little success.

"What? Wait... you wanna sail a dragon? Wow, and they say I'm crazy."

"Just get around the back and try not to hurt him."

"Me? You're the one who wants to turn him into a boat."

"Just push... gently."

With some coaxing, the pair managed to get Toothless half onto his feet and positioned the sail close behind him, allowing the dragon to roll slowly back again onto the canvas. Fishlegs brought in the thick beams and tied on the cordage lines from the sail, which turned out to be way too big; so with Tuffnuts help he rolled up the sail onto the beams, until each one was only several inches away from the dragon. Finally he ran a few feet of rope between the beams and tied them together before they hoisted the end near the dragon's head up onto the Gronckle's shoulders; this allowed them to drag the makeshift litter up to the camp, where the glow of several campfires lit up the side of the mountain in the fading light. They found one of the fires near to a small cave where Astrid's Nadder was sitting; Fishlegs soon realised this was the best place to take their wounded friend.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Snotlout yelled at the attacking Vikings as his dragon fled into the sky.

"What did it look like, ya daft pudding?" Olaf declared "we were savin' you from that Monstrous Nightmare."

"That was my dragon" he whimpered.

* * *

**New on bookshelves everywhere from Berksbury Press,  
SNOTLOUT: The Living Legend.**

**Read about this young man's amazing life from his adventures in the training arena, to the making of the Hero of Dragon Island, and his love for one very lucky girl.**

**Just listen to what some people have said about this incredible story;**

"**Absolute rubbish" Gobber the Belch**

"**No it's not" Spitelout Jorgenson**

"**CHAPTER 12 IS A COMPLETE LIE" Astrid Hofferson**

"**I'm tellin' ye, a dragon can nay fly; it's against the laws of physics – and why wasn't I asked to be a voice in this movie?" Montgomery Scott**

"**... ... ..." Gothi**

"**I thought it was Hiccup who was the Hero of Dragon... OWW! Stop hitting me Snotlout!" Fishlegs Ingerman**


	8. Chapter 8

8 Don't Know Why

Hiccups wound had been seared by the intense heat of the exploding dragon, so he had hardly lost any blood at all, but it still needed a lot of cleaning and shaping, it was going to be tough on both surgeon and patient.

"At this stage I'm glad he's still unconscious" Olvor remarked as she worked on Hiccups leg.

"Have you got enough salt water for now?" Agnar asked the surgeon.

"Aye; I think so" she replied as she dipped another bandage in the water and cleaned up around the stump "thanks for your help."

"You're welcome; well I think I'll go and check on some of our other patients.

"Right ho then; let me know if you need anything cut off or sown back on" Olvor smiled.

"I don't know how you do it" Astrid remarked "it smells bad and it looks revolting."

"Does it change the way you feel about him?" Olvor asked suspiciously.

"WHAT? No... no... we'll still be friends... of course."

"Friends huh?"

Astrid turned a little pink because she wasn't sure if she should admit her feelings about Hiccup to anyone while his life was still in the balance. Also she did feel differently about him now that he had lost his leg; she was proud of him, but was unsure if that was the way she was supposed to feel.

It was all very confusing for a young girl.

* * *

The weary Viking Chief approached the warm inviting glow of the camp fires but as he walked, he heard the sound of beating wings growing closer and closer. He looked skyward and beheld a sight that would soon become very familiar to all the inhabitants of Berk; young Snotlout Jorgenson bringing his Monstrous Nightmare to a landing with a loud thump. He landed a few yards ahead of Stoick, dropped down to the ground and ran up to the Chief to give his report.

"What did you see son?" Stoick enquired.

"Well... a couple of dozen people had made it around the headland before the... thing, the... giant dragon or whatever it was, went down and exploded and they thought you were all dead" he smiled excitedly.

"So when they see me riding a dragon, WOW, it just blew their minds." he grinned joyously but seeing Stoicks glare he composed himself and saluted "err, Sir."

"What did you do then, did you just leave them there?"

"Err, n-n-no sir" Snotlout stammered "I landed nearby to tell them what happened back here, and they attacked me.

"They attacked...? Of course; if they had followed my orders and made for the far side of the island, then they would have had no idea about what had happened, and would believe that we were still at war with the dragons."

"You're not kidding; it took my ages to get my dragon back after they drove him away."

"So then Snotlout, are they on their way back now?"

"Not yet sir. It was already getting dark behind the mountain so Mr. Olaf has decided to make camp where they are, and they will make their way back at first light."

"Well done lad. Anything else?"

"Some of the wild dragons are returning to the island, but they mainly seem to be going inside the mountain or spreading out around the island, but they don't appear threatening anyone at all."

"Right... good, settle you dragon down for the night and go take a rest by the fire; and... good work."

"Thanks Chief" replied Snotlout as he trotted happily back to his dragon.

As Stoick entered the campsite he could see some his brave warriors warming themselves by one of the fires after having had their injuries attended to by Big Freya and Agnar. Big Freya wasn't a particularly large woman, but she had given her daughter the same name, so everyone had come to know them as Big Freya and Little Freya.

"What's all this laying about while there's still work to be done?" Stoick bellowed loudly.

A mighty roar of laughter erupted from the group and Stoick joined in with delight. Hoark the Haggard lay close by with a slightly broken leg. He raised his arm in a delicate way with his pinkie finger raised up and spoke.

"Sorry Stoick ol' boy, but I couldn't abide with any more work today; I'm simply exhausted don't you know" and the laughter erupted once more.

Stoick wanted to say how proud he was of them, and that he was sorry he had led them into this near disaster, but he knew that what they needed now more than anything, was a leader they could be confident in; a leader who would make all the hard decisions and get them safely home again. This had been a day of 'firsts' for Stoick, but the surprises were not over yet. He looked down at the lovely warm fire that was keeping the chill away and saw that it had no wood or coal in it at all; it consisted of nothing more than several glowing, red hot rocks. Hoark could see the puzzled look on his Chiefs face so he explained.

"It was amazing Chief; we had some wood from the broken catapults and young Astrid brought in her dragon to light it, but with one breath it turned the wood into ash, and even set fire to me britches."

Another roar of laughter went up from the group before Hoark could continue his tale.

"Well we knew it weren't any good doin' that again, so we piles up these rocks and the beast breaths on 'em for less than a ten count, and they bin glowin' ever since; it must be nearly two hours now."

The others nodded in agreement and continued to enjoy the warm glow in the cool evening. Stoick made his way toward the base of the mountain where he could see another of the woodless fire near a cave entrance, where a dozen or so Vikings sat singing off key. As he drew nearer he noticed that the loudest and most off key was none other than Gobber the Belch; friend, blacksmith and legendarily bad singer. The others around the fire(?) silenced themselves as they saw their leader approach, but not Gobber; he wailed on till the song was complete and only then acknowledged the Chief.

"Well halloo there; if you're looking for what left of your son," Gobber declared tactlessly "he's back there in the cave with Olvor... and young Astrid who has hardly left his side, IF you know what I mean."

Stoick ignored the insinuation and asked "What do think Gobber; how's everyone doing?"

"Weeeell, if you consider how we started the day thinking that we would be fighting an epic battle against hundreds of homicidal beasts, yet ended up being saved from a monster that was about to serve our arses up on a platter by our very own children and a bunch of dragons, then pretty darn well I'd say; I don't even think that anyone is dead... although for the life of me I don't know why."

Stoick gave a half smile as Gobber sat back down and contemplated a new song; as usual, the down to earth blacksmith had summed up the situation perfectly, so Stoick made his way back into the cave and was surprised to find it not cold and dark, but warm and inviting; he soon realised why when he saw that one of Astrid's amazing rock fires glowed nearby. There were actually two fires in the cave and each was a few feet on either side of a large rock, about the size of Hiccups dragon; Stoick smiled to himself at the comparative thought. The rock had been covered with a coat made of Yak skin on which laid his son, still unconscious, having his leg attended to by Olvor while Astrid sat holding his hand and lightly stroking his hair; the two ladies looked up as Stoick entered, although only Astrid jumped up with a start.

"Oh... Chief! I... err.."

Olvor smiled as Stoick calmed the startled girl.

"It's alright Astrid, no need to stand at attention" he reassured her.

"What.. err... yes, thank you sir" she stuttered as Stoick turned to Olvor.

"How's my little hero doing?"

Olvor spoke low as she took Stoicks arm and turned him away from Astrid.

"He's not good Chief, and it's not just the leg; he's got bruises everywhere and I've got no way of telling if he's hurt inside or not, so only time will tell. The good news is that his heart is beating strong and his breathing is regular, but the bad news is that I've got nothing to put on his wound apart from salt water and I'm worried about his leg going bad."

"But you've fixed his leg" Stoick whispered in protest while looking back at the beautifully bandaged limb.

"Yes yes I've done me best, but one of the secrets of my success is the pure alcohol I normally mix with fresh water to clean a wound and soak the bandages" Olvor replied. "I keep a small flask in my doctorin' bag, but it fell out and smashed during all of today's goings on and the only other supplies are in a keg back on Berk and we won't be getting back there in a hurry."

"I could go and get it" came a voice from behind them.

Stoick and Olvor turned to find Astrid had snuck up behind them and was eavesdropping on every word.

"It only took us a few hours to fly here; I could take my dragon, get a bottle of your stuff and be back before morning" declared Astrid, fairly bouncing with excitement.

"But it's dark outside and you'd never find your way" Olvor noted.

"Yes I will, I know the way, and you should see how Berk looks at night from above the clouds; you can see the signal fires for miles and miles."

"Oh really?" said Stoick accusingly "So you've seen Berk from atop a dragon before have you?"

"Err... just the once when Hiccup and I..."

"Well how would you find you find your back here then?" Stoick continued and Astrid began to feel a little less confident of her ability to convince him of her plan.

"This is the dragon's home" she pleaded "It knows the way."

Stoick looked grimly ahead, and slowly inhaled.

"Alright" he snorted as he pulled off mighty fur cape and swirled around the small thin girl.

Astrid winced; the smell made her feel ill, but she could not deny its warmth. They strode out of the cave with Astrid in front being half pushed and half carried as the Chief gripped her shoulders and lifted her up so that her legs were almost running on air. As the pair emerged from the cave Stoick put Astrid back down, looked up and sniffed the air; he knew the signs very well and was sure that this would not be a calm night.

"I don't know" Stoick wrinkled his nose as he pondered "maybe you should wait till morning and go with the others."

Astrid could tell that the Chief was in the middle of changing his mind, but she was not about to wait for an order that she did not want to hear; so she broke free from Stoicks grip, ran to her dragon, leapt on and flew off into the night. The mighty Viking growled to himself as he watched her go; it was one thing to be brave, but he knew more than anyone else alive what could happen when someone acted rashly and without thinking, just as he had done with Hiccup a few days ago.

"Ahoy there Stoick." the voice of Sigrid the Strong called out.

"Ah, Sigrid" Stoick got right to the point "salvaged much of any use from the longships; what's left of them?" he enquired.

"Aye Chief. We've got three kegs of fresh water and two small barrels of the pickled fish, but all the bread and biscuits are gone; waterlogged of course. There are a few tools and four spare sails and several lengths of rope; I'm sure we'll find more tomorrow on the other ships when we bring em up."

"If they're still there in the morning; we might be in for a rough night."

Stoick was worried because, although most of his people were close by, some were still out of sight several miles away with no provisions; they were strong and he was sure Olaf would see them safely through the night, but he wished that he could do more for them. As he also considered Astrid flying out over the ocean, an idea flashed into his mind and he ran off to find Snotlout.

"Come with me" he called back to Sigrid who followed close behind, wondering what he was up to.

The four remaining dragons and riders were relaxing around their own private pile of glowing rocks, talking and laughing over the day events with Toothless still resting on the makeshift dragon litter; the riders stood up as Stoick and Sigrid approached.

"Snotlout; I know it's dark but do you think you could fly back to Olaf with some supplies for him and the others?"

"No worries Chief" Snotlout declared proudly with chest out and hands on hips "they're just around the headland so I could fly there in no time" he bragged.

"Good" said Stoick, turning to Sigrid. "Wrap up one barrel of fish and one keg of water in a sail and bind it well with rope, I don't want it coming apart in the air, and then give it to Snotlout."

He turned back and pointed to the boy "Tell Olaf that I said there may be some rough weather tonight so I have sent you and the dragon to help him. Make some of these hot rock fires and if they can't find a cave, tell them to use the sail to shelter under as best they can; I'm counting on you lad."

"I won't let you down Chief" he declared proudly and ran off after Sigrid to get the package ready.

Striding with purpose, Stoick rushed back to have a chat with Olvor but stopped for a brief word with Gobber on the way.

"Get all the wounded and as many as will fit into the cave; and take the supplies with you." He turned and shouted to all in earshot "Everyone else stay as close in to the cave as you can, and bring the dragons in close as well"

Picking up two of the salvaged beams, Stoick strode back into the cave.

"It smells like a storm's on its way Olvor, so I've ordered all the injured in to the cave."

Stoick placed the beams between some low rocks to make some seating and made his way back outside to where Gobber and a few volunteers were carrying the litter with Toothless on it nearer to the cave where a large overhang of rock would provide some shelter for all who would not fit inside. Looking out into the night he did his best to keep his feelings well hidden, but so many people were on his mind; not the least of which was his own son who lay in the cave behind him and also the small group beyond the headland, but it was the young girl flying far out over the sea that occupied his mind the most.

He whispered quietly to himself "She must really love my son."

* * *

**Hey there; are you far from home (Berk) and feelin' that rumblin' a deep down in your tummy? Well this is your lucky day because a new family restaurant has just opened up on that rock covered paradise that is Dragon Island, McGobbers!**

**At McGobbers we've got anything you could want (as long as you want fish) and we've got both kinds too; fresh and pickled.  
Want a Pizza? Then grab a Deep Dish Fish special (with anchovies)  
Want a Hotdog? We got Dogfish (you can have it hot if you like)  
Want a Burger? Then try the new Big Gob fish burger with cheese (byo cheese)**

**Yes sir at McGobbers if it's got fins, we cook it so come on down, pull up a rock and take a seat; we've even got free Dragon Rides for the kiddies.  
(no responsibility will be taken if you child looks like a salmon and gets eaten by a dragon)**


	9. Chapter 9

9 There's No Stars Up In The Sky

The moon shone brightly in the eastern sky as the Deadly Nadder arose high above the island that had once been the only home she had ever known. It was never a place in which the dragon had felt safe however, because Dragon Island was more akin to a prison than a home for the many hundreds of dragons that dwell there. Ruled by an overlord that demanded a constant tribute of food, she could do nothing but hunt and sleep, but never truly rest. That was until the night of her capture several months ago, when she was caught in a Viking net while raiding a small village to the northwest, and then thrown into a stone cell that was attached to an arena covered by an iron cage. In the other cells around her were imprisoned several more dragons that had been captured during previous raids on the village; these others simply sat in their cells having long ago accepted their fate, while the young Nadder exhausted herself in a desperate attempt to escape her prison by continually throwing her body against the metal covered granite door. Soon after, having failed completely, she resigned herself to her fate and fell into a shallow and restless sleep.

Life for the captive dragons could only be described as hard, and she never knew when each day began if she would be left to fret in her cell, or be taken into the arena where young Vikings would fight with her. If the dragon was defeated, she would be forced back into her cell, but if she should ever come close to gaining an advantage over her adversaries, a huge one legged man with a metal hook for a hand would intervene and Take her advantage away. If she was fortunate, she would be given some food after the fight, although it was never very good food; just a few fish heads or the rotting guts of some animal from which the Vikings had already taken the best parts. Afterwards she would be left alone in the dark to recover for a few days and await the next time of battle, but then one strange day, events took a very different path and each dragon's life would change forever.

The young Nadder was pursuing a small group of Vikings through a maze that had been set up in the arena outside her cell. It had been a good day for the blue dragon; the sun was high and felt good as it warmed her back while she hunted her clumsy prey. She had been able to get off several shots at the fleeing and screaming Viking children, and began to feel confident that this was well and truly going to be her day; then just as she was about to finish off the two that had fallen, one of the smallest had jumped up and hit her hard on the side of the head with a shield attached to an axe, sending her falling back in a daze and she soon ended up back in her cell.

A few days later she found herself in the arena once more; again the Vikings were scattered and on the run from her sharp claws and snapping beak. Looking around the ring she dodged an axe that was spinning toward her head; she picked out one of the smallest Vikings and rushed at him, but to her great surprise he didn't turn and run as expected and so he soon disappeared into her blind spot just below her chin. The dragon's heart beat rapidly because she knew that she only had a few seconds to sniff out her prey before the others could regroup and drive her off again, but before she could manage to pinpoint his odour and strike, she felt a soft yet firm rubbing on the side of her jaw. The dragon began to feel a little woozy but then the hand that pet her moved under her chin causing the huge dragon to drop down on the ground with a loud thump; she began to purr like a cat by a warm fire.

Two more days passed while she sat in her cell and listened to the sound of a mighty battle that was taking place in the arena; two powerful dragons and many roaring Vikings fought as she continued to cower in the dark while wondering what fate held for her future, but later that night the door to her cell began to open with a long slow creak. The silhouette of a small figure stood in the warm glow of the torchlight and the wary dragon tensed herself with fear. Instead of shouting at her, the figure spoke in soft and soothing tones before two distinct aromas filled her nostrils. The first and strongest was the smell of something she had desired ever since her capture and it made her drool in anticipation; it was the welcoming aroma of a whole, large and fresh fish and the second and much weaker smell, was the one she had detected when her chin had been rubbed a few days ago causing her to pass out. The tiny figure moved closer and offered her the fish; she opened her mouth and took it with gratitude and delight.

The next day came with the anticipation of better things to come after the four large beasts and one very small one had spent the entire night with the doors of their individual cells open to the much larger prison arena, where a warm fire blazed and a small Viking moved from dragon to dragon petting them softly and providing them with regular treats of fresh fish until their bellies were full and they all nodded off to sleep, more content than any of them had ever been before.

Early in the morning the dragon had awoken to find the boy gone and the door closed, but he soon returned and opened the prison door wide. As he came back inside, all the dragons could see that the other small Vikings were standing out in the arena behind him, but for the first time ever they were all unarmed. The boy who had given them fish the night before greeted them once again before he lead the Monstrous Nightmare outside and took him to one of the young Vikings, who placed his hand gently on its snout. The Nadder was finding it hard to believe; not only had Fish Boy changed her view of Vikings, but it was apparent that he had also managed to change the Vikings as well, and although she was unsure of what awaited her, the dragon stepped out into the sunlight and was approached by a small blonde girl.

The dragon recognised this girl as the one who had struck her with the shield covered axe some time ago, but this time she was speaking softly and rubbing the dragons cheek just as the Fish Boy had done; this must be his doing and if the girl continued to act in this way, the big blue Nadder decided to give her another chance.

* * *

The Chief was right; of course he was. Stoick had been sailing the open seas around Berk since long before Astrid was born, and if he ever said it would be a rough night, then the time had come to lock the doors and windows and then nail 'em down for good measure. Astrid and her dragon had been in the air for a little over an hour and the headwind they were fighting against was now only marginally slower than the inhaled breath of the giant dragon they had fought earlier in the day; so at least they were still flying forward, but only just. Astrid now figured that it would take longer than the two to three hours to reach Berk than she had told her Chief, but there was no chance at all that she would ever consider giving up and going back. It wasn't her pride that made her feel this way, and it wasn't because someone very annoying (named Snotlout) might make an awful comment about how weak girls were.

The true reason she could never give up was Hiccup; that boy had saved her several times over the last few days, and now it was her turn to save him. The very first way he had saved her was from herself; ever since that very first day of dragon battle training, Astrid had been changing into the type of person that she did not want to be; jealous and obsessed. She had begun to hate everyone and everything and the only reason that she felt this way was because none of the others in the arena would think and act as she believed they should; the whole place was filled with flirting, fear and infighting and Astrid believed that the king of all this trouble was Hiccup.

The other four had their problems too; Fishlegs trouble was fear but he always kept his mind on the enemy. Ruff and Tuff on the other hand showed very little sign of fear but unlike Fishlegs, their efforts were directed more towards defeating each other and not the dragons. Snotlout, although brave and strong, had his mind on something else altogether, but the one in Astrids who embodied everything that was wrong in the arena, was Hiccup. He may have been the son of Stoick, but he was nothing like the Chief and he spent all his time doing everything except what he should.

If there was a place to be, he wasn't in it. And if courage was needed, he'd never show any, but on the very top of her list of reasons to hate Hiccup was his infuriating ability to combine everyone else's flaws; he could get in the way, flirt with Astrid and upset the fight all at the same time. It almost seemed that he was not on their side at all, but then... one late afternoon when the final test was over, Hiccup had shown her... no... he had forced her to see the dragons in a completely different light; he had kidnapped her while riding on a Night Fury and her life would never be the same again.

Later he had saved her in a more literal way when he had kept both Astrid and her dragon from disappearing down the throat of the giant dragon, and he followed that up by saving her again as she fell back to earth but if this were not enough, he had capped it all by saving the entire tribe and all the dragons at the same time.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!"

She declared her opinion to the world in a loud voice as the rain obscured both her vision and her tears; why was Hiccup now fighting for his life when he was the one who had defeated the beast? How could it be that the only one to see the truth, was the only one still suffering?

"It's just not fair" she repeated dropping her chin to her chest.

Thoughts of Hiccup were driving her forward; the thought of him lying back there in the cave, the memory of seeing him for the first time in his father's arms with his left leg just... gone. Thoughts about everything he had done for the tribe; thoughts about everything he had done for her. No; she would not fail. It was not as simple as 'Succeed or die trying' for if she died then Hiccup died and He...Must...Not...Die. It was as simple as that; he must not die.

* * *

The muscles that powered her wings ached and burned, but the dragons would not stop. For she had sensed something and it was something very important; the girl on her back had screamed but not at the dragon, she had screamed at the night and she had screamed with passion. It was a mystery to the blue dragon why they had left the island, with its warm fire and good friends all around, but the girl had wanted to go; and if she wanted to go, then the dragon wanted to take her and would not let her down. It was only recently that these two had become friends after they had fought against each other several times in the arena, and it was the boy... the boy with the fish who had made it all possible.

On that first wonderful morning the dragon had noticed, without knowing how or why, that Fish Boy had done something to the girl that had calmed her and now instead of throwing axes, she was scratching the dragons neck and making soft sounds too her. Fish Boy must have done something to the other Vikings as well, for none of them wanted to fight, except of course for the two that looked alike, but they only fought with each other. After spending some time with the other dragons, Fish Boy came back with something in his hand and let the dragons smell it; there was the distinct aroma of Viking sweat on the long coiled fibres of the rope. He walked back along the Nadder while lightly touching her neck so she could sense where he was and then he threaded the rope under her wings and threw it over her body, tying it underneath at the base of her neck; he then used the rope to pull himself up onto her back.

It was a new sensation for the dragon to carry a rider, but she soon got use to it as he urged her forward for a few steps. The dragon kept walking until she felt a light pull on the rope fastened around her and so she stopped alongside the girl who climbed on her back behind the fish giver, who urged her on once more. As she walked, she felt a pulling on one side of the rope and so she circled around that way and received a grateful pat on the back for her effort. The turn she had made brought her around to face the open door of the arena and she felt her riders urging her on to walk faster as she passed through the opening. On the outside now for the first time since her capture, she broke into a brisk trot and then to a run, all the time being urged on by her new friends. Unable and unwilling to stay earthbound any more, she spread her wings to their full width and soared up into the sky; a warm feeling of delight filled the dragon as she threw off her memories of the dark prison, and enjoyed her freedom once more. She could hear the two riders cheer with joy as she beat her wings and continued to climb.

* * *

_**Hi everybody, Moon here; some of you may know me as Marty's cat but the truth is that he is my 'can opener' (and a lazy one at that – did you know that he only feeds me twice a day? Disgusting)  
I've been looking into this whole FanFiction thing and I've noticed a few things; the most obvious is that you people can write about anything you like – and you do.**_

_**You can make Hiccup and Astrid high school kids, Toothless a human, Harry Potter a girl, anything you like, so why can't I find a story where the hero is a cat? (and I don't mean like in Lion King)  
Here are a few ideas for you all:  
How to train your Kitty (naturally)  
Mad Manx  
Catman and Robin (obviously)  
Deep Space Feline  
Catflap SG1 (indeed)  
iCaty  
Cattlestar Galactica  
Kill Dog Vol. 1  
Buffy: The Vampire Rat Slayer  
Ouran High School Cat Club (it could work)**_

_**Get onto it people!**_


	10. Chapter 10

10 Stormy Weather

Astrid felt very small and insignificant as she was tossed about the sky; the storm raged fiercely all around her and even Stoicks mighty cape could not keep the wind and rain out entirely. Her hands felt numb as she gripped the rope that encircled the dragon's body and gave her some control as to the direction they should fly.

"Down girl" she shouted through the wind and firmly patted the dragons back.

As they dropped below the high clouds Astrid scanned the horizon just as she had done many times before, but this time it was different for to her left, along the line of the dragon's wing, was a tiny light far in the distance.

"THERE!" she shouted and pulled on the rope while leaning hard to one side.

The dragon banked to the left and began a slow descent as her wings continued to beat hard against the wind. The light grew gradually brighter as they approached and soon several others could be seen blazing from the island, and from within the mouths of the giant stone heads that were carved from the rock sea stacks in the waters around the Isle of Berk. The first part of their journey was almost complete and although Astrid felt happy and satisfied, she could not stop her emotions from rising up and so her tears only continued to increase. The dragon came to rest near the centre of the village in the square so as not to be blown into any of the buildings.

Only a small number Vikings had remained on Berk when the fleet set sail for Dragon Island; the very young and the very old and they all remained shut up in their homes while waiting out the storm. Naturally they were all completely unaware of what had happened to their friends on Dragon Island, of the existence of the giant beast, and of the dragon riders who had saved the tribe from total annihilation; so despite the noise of the rushing wind, Astrid led her dragon very quietly through the lanes between the houses to the home of Olvor and signalled it to sit and wait outside as she opened the door and delicately slipped inside. The soaking wet, yak fur covered, forlorn and bedraggled girl froze on the spot when she spotted Gothi the Elder, sleeping in a chair by a roaring fire.

* * *

Astrid had often noticed Gothi in the observation area above the arena watching over them, and indeed it had been she who had chosen Hiccup over Astrid to have the honour of killing the dragon at the end of the training period, but the young girl had not known about everything that the wily old woman had seen. Gothi's home stood on a high rock overlooking the sea to the southwest of the village, and from there she would observe most of what went around the town. On the big day of the fight between Hiccup and the Monstrous Nightmare, she had observed many things that had raised her interest and so she had spent much of her time since then, considering what she had seen and planning her next move.

When Hiccup had stepped into the arena he looked very nervous, but that was no surprise; it was Astrid though who made her look twice. Time and time again Gothi had noticed the young men of the village talking to Astrid and looking at her in that certain way, but this was the first time that she had ever seen Astrid look at any boy that way, and it had made Gothi smile. Everyone who watched what had happened in the ring was shocked at Hiccups actions; dropping his weapon, shield and helmet, but only Gothi and the boy were aware of the dragons reaction to this sign of trust. When Stoicks anger had raged and the fight had begun, it was she alone who saw that it was the Night Fury who had protected the Chief's son from danger. This had given her much to ponder as she watched the fleet sail away that evening with the black dragon... the black dragon with the saddle on its back, chained on the foredeck of Stoicks flagship. The conclusions that Gothi had come to that night, were confirmed the next morning when she observed two young Vikings from her balcony, soaring through the clouds above, on the back of a big blue dragon.

* * *

The dragon rider was so surprised at seeing the wise old woman sleeping in Olvors home that she failed to notice two very important details; the first of these details was the Terrible Terror, a small dragon less than three feet long from nose to tail, curled up asleep on her lap. The second was the fact that Astrid had not yet shut the door. A cold wind rushed through the room causing Gothi to shiver as she opened her eyes and turned smiling towards Astrid. The little dragon gave a small growl of protest as the lady rose, but she placed it back onto the warm chair she had just vacated. The small creature circled twice around the seat of the chair before it settled down once more and soon resumed its purring. Moving toward the door, Gothi went right by the wide eyed young girl to the Deadly Nadder outside; she led the creature back inside to sit beside the warm, inviting fire before Astrid finally managed to pull herself together and closed the door behind her. She was a little surprised that her dragon had managed to fit through, even though Viking doors are quite large. Astrid made her way back to where Gothi was patting the very satisfied dragon and stared at her in wonder.

"How did you know..." she began.

Gothi took her hand, led her to the window, opened it slightly and pointed to her house up on the rock; Astrid understood.

"Oh... so you saw it all" she said as the window was closed again.

Gothi gave no reply but a smile and a knowing nod.

Astrid was taken back to the fire to warm herself while Gothi went off to a far corner and picked up a rather large satchel that she brought back and gave to the girl; looking inside Astrid could see some leather bandages, a stone bottle, a sheathed knife, a small water keg, and some bread and dried meat along with other sundries.

"Thank you, but Olvor sent me back to get something for Hiccup; he's lost his leg and it might go bad..."

Gothi held up her hand to silence the girl and then picked up the stone bottle out of the bag. She removed the stopper and sniffed at it before holding it up for Astrid to do the same.

"PPHHHEEWW" Astrid gasped; it did not smell bad, but sharp and strong and she felt as if her nose was about to shrivel up and drop off.

"That must be the stuff; I hope Hiccup doesn't have to drink it" but Gothi shook her head while replacing the cork and putting the bottle back into the bag.

Gothi was the kind of woman who had much experience with all the things that could make life a little more bearable, if the life in question was not going very well at the moment; in the spirit of this thought, she went back to the fire and wrapped a thick cloth around her hand enabling her to lift a black kettle out of the flames and pour some of its contents into a small cup. She replaced the kettle and took the cup over to Astrid.

"Thank you, and then I'd better get this bag back to Hiccu... back to Olvor as soon as I can."

Gothi's drinks of hot water mixed with herbs were well known and respected for helping with any ailment, or in any situation so Astrid knew as she drank, that the warm concoction would both aid her and thaw her out before she had to brave the storm once more. Astrid sat down on the rug next to the fire and rested her head on the chair on which the small sleeping dragon snored with a little chirrup noise; she placed the cup on the floor just as exhaustion took over and she nodded off to sleep.

* * *

Ten minutes later the chair moved a little as Astrid leant against it, causing her to awaken with a start.

"Oh no" she jumped up in a panic "how long was I asleep?"

Gothi smiled and tried to calm the highly strung girl who ran to the window to peer out through a crack in the shutters; she was very relieved to see it was still dark outside. Astrid walked quickly back to her dragon and found that Gothi had been very busy in the short time that she was asleep; a sheep skin had been fastened on to two points of the rope wrapped around the dragon's chest with the back tied down to its tail. Stoicks cape had been rolled up and was attached to the cords that held the woollen skin at the front, and Gothi was holding up a coat for Astrid made from tanned and oiled leather, with a large hood and gloves in the inner pockets.

"Thanks again" she said as she slipped into the coat knowing it wound keep out the rain and not absorb it as the cape had done.

Astrid rubbed her hand across the dragons back as she checked out all the ties on the ropes, and was pleased to find that everything was secure; the sheep skin would be more comfortable to sit on during the long flight back but she could not help but think about the impressive saddle that Hiccup had fitted to Toothless, with its stirrups and restraining hooks for stunt flying.

'I must make something similar as soon as I get the chance' she thought to herself 'especially before I have to make another storm flight.'

Astrid stopped mid thought as an idea began to form in her mind; she smiled to herself as she turned to Gothi.

"I'd better get going. Thanks for all your help... and Stormfly thanks you too."

Gothi opened the door as Astrid led the newly named dragon out into the dark bleak night. They made their way back to the centre of town where Astrid slipped on her gloves and climbed on to the sheep skin saddle.

"UP STORMFLY" she yelled, no longer caring if she was overheard as the dragon took to the sky once more.

* * *

**January 2****nd**** 2015 and the temperature here in Adelaide is 42 C (107 F) so as I sit here sweating, it isn't easy writing about warm cosy fires and hot drinks.**

**It's kind of like watching one of Elvis's Hawaii films when it's freezing outside.**

* * *

_**Astrid looked deeply into Hiccups eyes "Why?" she sobbed.**_

"_**I'm sorry Astrid but I'm just not interested in marrying you."**_

"_**Is there... someone else?" she asked.**_

"_**No... not really; I just think I'd be happier if I got a cat or two and lived alone... so get out and take those stupid dragons with you."**_

**MOON! Bad Kitty! Get away from that computer... NOW!**


	11. Chapter 11

11 Never Gonna Give You Up

Stoick the Vast stood guard outside in the wind, near to where many of his people had taken refuge. He was thinking how unfortunate it was that the small cave could not hold them all. Orders had been given for the injured to be taken to the rear of the cave, while others would slept near the entrance for a few hours before joining the Chief outside underneath the rock overhang; thus making room for the next group of weary warriors. It could be very dangerous to wake a sleeping Viking, so the task was given to Gobber the Belch who could block any wayward blow from sword or axe with the large stone hammer he had attached to his artificial, and interchangeable left arm. Most of the night had passed in an uneventful manor, when Gobber approached the unmovable figure of his chief staring into the darkness.

"It's not letting up then" Gobber shouted over the storm.

"Not long now" Stoick replied looking up at the thinning clouds "it's almost blown itself out."

"Err... I've come to tell you that the second shift has now had some sleep and left the cave so there is plenty of room for you to have a little shut eye now. So why don't you just..."

"I'm fine thank you Gobber" he said in that polite yet firm chiefly way that meant 'don't push me or you might get a bludgeon in your face'.

"Oh I'm sure that you are, it's just that we may be here for a few more days... or maybe a week, so you'd better pace yourself as we are gonna need you to..."

"I said I am FINE GOBBER" came the stern reply with the kind of finality that insinuated 'you're pushing it'.

"I am sure that Hiccup would like you to sit with him for a while" said Gobber; pushing it.

"HE'S AWAKE?" Stoick yelled as he spun around and grabbed Gobber's shoulders.

"Well... no, but all the same..."

"You are really pushing your luck Gobber" said Stoick through gritted teeth.

It was now Gobbers turn to be angry "Look here you stubborn ol' goat, if you don't..."

"GOBBER!" the Chief yelled and then caught himself and took a deep breath. "Gobber, I can't go in yet; young Astrid's still out there, and I..."

"And you can do nothing about that now BUT... you will need to do something if she's not back at first light, so you'd better make pretty damn sure that you've got a clear head... for her sake."

Gobber stared unflinching into the worried Vikings face until Stoick began to see reason and became the Chief once more; both he and Gobber had been doing their level best to keep their voices down, although they were not very good at it, but now Stoick spoke with authority so that all around who were awake could hear.

"Take over Gobber while I check on the injured in the cave."

"Right Chief" said Gobber knowingly as Stoick strode off to get some much needed rest.

* * *

Astrid had assumed that the trip back to Dragon Island would be much easier than the forward journey, but it was not proving to be so. It was true that the headwind she and Stormfly had fought against all the way to Berk, had been very rough and had slowed them down considerably, but on the return journey every gust of the tailwind knocked the poor dragon and her rider around the sky like a feather. This made flying extremely difficult for Stormfly and she found it very hard to keep her altitude up. Every time they came anywhere near to the clouds, the wind would send the dragon and rider tumbling over and they would begin to fall back down toward the untamed sea below, until the determined dragon would finally manage to right herself and begin to climb once more.

Stormfly knew that this journey was important to the girl on her back, or why else would they be there? Why would they have taken the perilous flight through the dark and stormy night, just to see a short woman with a tiny dragon, if it had not been of vital importance? And why would they have left the strange wooden cave which the humans liked to build, with its warm fire and inviting host, just to carry a bigger load back to Dragon Island?

The many different breeds of dragon have many different attributes and personalities, and Astrid was discovering that Deadly Nadders were very agreeable when they were treated well. Like most Nadders, Stormfly like to keep herself in good condition by washing in the sea, or in any handy river she happened to be passing. She would also spend any of her spare time (not that there was much with a giant angry dragon threatening her life on a daily basis) preening around her spines and quills, so it was very rare to find a Nadder infested with any parasites.

Nadders were also very intelligent and were quite capable of observing, and then reasoning with the information that they had at hand. Stormfly had noticed many things about both the girl, and the boy with the fish including the following; the boy was kind, but the girl was fierce like all the other Vikings. The boy had done something to all the smaller people, and now they were kind too. The boy and girl had taken her back to her home, along with all the other imprisoned dragons and their riders. When they had arrived, he had helped a black dragon who was bound and gagged. The boy had then saved Stormfly and the girl from being eaten, and then followed that up by destroying the giant dragon and freeing them all.

When all of this was over, Stormfly had seen Fish Boy once more and he was badly hurt. Stormfly could see that one of his legs was gone and it made her very sad, for now he would die. She did not want him to die, but that is what would happen to a dragon that was unfortunate enough to lose a leg, a wing or a tail. The girl had followed as the injured boy was taken into a cave, but had run back to Stormfly an hour or so later and their journey back to Berk had begun.

The dragon had given much thought to all of these observations, and had concluded that this journey must be for the benefit of Fish Boy. Then Stormfly remembered that some of the other Vikings were also missing legs, and had replaced them with pieces of wood or metal, so she came to the logical conclusion that inside the pack that she carried, was Fish Boys new leg. This was not a bad piece of reasoning, and although the dragon would never know that she was completely wrong, she had managed to come pretty darn close.

* * *

The warmth of the fire rocks inside the cave, were a welcoming change to the wind and rain that Stoick the Vast had been standing in ever since the sun had set eight hours ago. The form of the fires had been changed once again because the Deadly Nadder and Monstrous Nightmare that had made the rocks glow red hot, were no longer present. The first had flown back to Berk with Astrid, and the other had been sent to the aid of the small group of Vikings who would remain separated from the tribe until morning.

Fortunately for all concerned there were three more dragons present, but the Night Fury that lay near the cave entrance was still badly wounded, and gas from the Zippleback could blow up the cave entirely. Fortunately the Gronckle was more than happy to get all the praise and attention for helping out. The only problem was that unlike most dragons, Gronckles don't breathe fire very often, so when the hot rocks had begun to cool the brown bulbous dragon was simply taken to each campfire and allowed to eat the rocks; thus enabled it to create the molten lava that now kept the Vikings cosy and warm.

* * *

A strong gust of wind suddenly hit Stormfly from above and caused her to drop like a stone until she managed to fly out of the downdraught and level off. Although Astrid was incredibly cold and beginning to feel ill from all the rising and falling, she did feel very satisfied that she and Stormfly had managed to fight the headwind all the way to Berk, and now had survived the buffeting tailwind on the return journey.

Stoicks yak fur cape was rolled up and bound in front of Astrid providing her some protection from being thrown face first onto the back of Stormfly's neck with every change in the wind. Astrid could tell that the weary dragon was finding it harder and harder to go on with every beat of her wings, but they were almost back to Dragon Island, and then they could both rest. A blinding flash filled the air followed closely behind by the crashing sound of thunder causing Astrid to almost jumped out of her skin; she was so surprised by the lightning, that in the bright and brief light she failed to notice that the wind had begun to drop slightly. As the second bolt of lightning went streaking from cloud to cloud, it lit up Stormfly so brightly, that she appeared to Astrids eyes as if she was glowing and the young girl was awestruck by the sheer beauty of the sight, but in that same light she also noticed that the satchel had fallen open on one side and slipping out of the top was the stone bottle that Hiccup needed so much.

Astrid gave a cry of panic; she grabbed for the bottle as it slipped from the bag and began to tumble through the air. The smooth surface was very wet and slippery and she found it hard to catch; with every touch of her fingers, she only succeeded in pushing it further away. The desperate girl's brow furrowed with grim determination as she reached for the tumbling bottle. When the large round cork came into contact with her fingertips, one of her nails caught on its rough surface; so with a slight flick of her wrist she brought the vessel a little closer. This new advantage was all that was needed as she moved in her hands to steady the still spinning target and finally managed to grip it firmly and bring it close to her. With a sigh of relief, Astrid held the bottle tightly to her chest determined never to let go of it again as she plunged down toward the sea.

The long journey and buffeting wind had definitely taken its toll on Stormfly and the weary dragon felt that she could not go on much longer. The lightning had flashed for a second time when to Stormflys surprise and horror, she felt the girl slip from her back and saw her disappear into the night.

The dragon's loud screech pierced the darkness as she dipped her head, folded her wings and dove headlong down toward the falling girl, but the large pack tied to Stormfly's back interrupted the air flow over her body and slowed her down considerably and much to the dragons frustration the girl was not attempting to slow her fall, but was streaking through the sky as straight as an arrow. The distance between the two seemed to grow larger as they fell, but Stormfly was not willing to just give up and lose the friend who had come to mean so much to the dragon in only two days. Stormfly strained and stretch herself thinner to cut through the wind, but it was to no avail until finally, the girl suddenly brought in her limbs and rolled into a ball thus slowing her decent to the point that the two began to draw closer together. Stormfly's head moved over the tumbling girl as another flash of light lit up the scene below; the dragon could see waves crashing on an island shore that was coming rapidly closer; she dipped her head and rolled forward pushing the girl back into her waiting claws. The dragon completed her roll with the girl safely secured; she threw out her wings, but was too late. As she began to slow up, a large wave hit her firmly in the face as the shore rushed toward them. In a desperate but impressive move, Stormfly brought her legs up under her chin and placed the girl as gently as she could onto the beach before coming down with a tumbling crash, rolling to a halt ten yards away.

Astrid had felt the claws closing around her, as well as the rapid deceleration; the wave strike followed, as well as the abrupt halt on the beach. As another flash of lightning lit up the island, she saw her dragon painfully rolling away up the beach and coming to rest against a large rock. Picking herself up and slipping the bottle into one of the deep inner pockets of her coat, Astrid staggered up the beach to the dazed dragon and lifted up its head in her arms.

"Stormfly, are you alright?"

She stroked the dragons face and a soft birdlike chirrup emitted from the frail beast.

"Oh Stormfly, I am so sorry. Thank you... thank you... good girl."

Placing the dragons head gently in her lap, Astrid continued to comfort Stormfly as they rested together under the curved, eroded rock face at the top of the beach.

* * *

_**Why do you think that there are millions more cat videos on the net than there are for other animals? Obviously we are cuter and it is also plain to see that we are funnier and more entertaining, and yet people everywhere spend so much time putting us cats down, as well as the people who do like us.**_

_**Consider the following terms in wide spread use:  
Dog Lover  
Bird Fancier  
Horse Officianardo  
Crazy Cat Lady**_

_**Really? Why is someone assumed to be crazy if they like cats? Look at me for example; I'm cute and I enjoy the company of people. It may be true that I once tried to carry out a plan to destroy the computers of everyone who reads Marty's stories, and I did have a large stockpile of futuristic weaponry at my disposal but hey; a Kitty's gotta do what a Kitty's gotta do and if a few thousand people get inconvenienced and many of them get hurt then... hmm... I haven't really made my case have I?**_

_**Bye for now, Moon. =^..^=**_


	12. Chapter 12

12 Astrids Return

Stoick the Vast gasped loudly as he awoke with a start; he had been sitting beside his wounded son in the warm glow of the Gronckle lava. Sleep had finally overtaken him while he rested his head on the very rock on which the boy lay. Looking out of the mouth of the cave Stoick could see a faint greyness, so he knew that the night was now over and the sun would rise within the hour.

He stood and looked around the cave noticing that all those about him were sleeping peacefully, but he could hear some movement coming from outside so he made his way to the mouth of the cave. Thankfully the storm was over, although a strong breeze continued in the pre-dawn light as all around him, Viking men and women attempted to create some kind of order in the wind blown campsite; some were lifting up a frame that had once formed part of a huge catapult. An impressive weapon, but unfortunately totally useless against the giant dragon the Vikings had fought the day before. The frame had now been tied to one of the spare sails retrieved from the salvaged longships, and as it was raised up, the sail became taught creating a crude, but much needed shelter. Stoick began to realise how soundly he had slept, for he had not heard the large tent pegs being hammered into the ground at all. Over by the edge of the camp he could see that some of the pickled fish they had salvaged, was being cooked on a fire that was surprisingly made of burning wood.

"Mornin' Stoick" yelled Hoark the Haggard while tending the fish. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

Typical Hoark, thought Stoick smiling to himself; even with a broken leg, he finds something to keep himself busy.

"Do you know where Gobber is?" the Chief asked.

"Aye, he's gone down to the shore with some of the men to check out what's left of the longships."

"Righty ho then" the chief replied and strode off toward the beach.

As he came closer he could see that all of the wrecks were still in place, and had even moved a little more up the beach thanks to the onshore wind of last night's storm, but they had also been damaged further by the constant pounding they had received.

"Ready for another day of cookouts and jolly camp fun?" quipped Gobber as he hobbling up the beach.

"Not now Gobber I'm not in the mood."

"Ahh... I see a good rest has made a new man out of you."

"Gobber please!" Stoick pleaded for his friend to be serious. "No sign of Astrid then."

"Err... no, but before you get too worried, consider that she may have spent the night on Berk because of the storm and she may be on her way back even as we speak"

"Do you really believe that?" Stoick declared accusingly.

"Well, to be honest..."

"I thought not, and we've got no ships to send out after her."

"No, but we do have a Gronckle and a Zippleback, with a Monstrous Nightmare not far away that we could..."

"Of course!" Stoicks face lit up.

"IVAR AND THORFINN" he shouted to some of the men combing the wrecks "find Fishlegs and the twins and tell them to bring their dragons to me here; I've got a very important task for them to do."

"Right Stoick." The men replied and began to run off, until Gobber stopped them.

"Don't worry about that men; get back to your work."

Stoick spun around and glared at Gobber ready to knock his head off, but then he saw the smirking blacksmith pointing one finger out to sea.

"Take a good look before you kill me." Gobber suggested.

Stoick turned his head and saw an approaching dragon ridden by the most bedraggled young girl he had ever seen. The pair had a hard landing on the beach right in front of the two men, and the dragon sat down immediately in complete and obvious exhaustion. Astrid leapt off Stormfly with a slight stumble, removed her gloves and approached Stoick with a huge grin on her face; she looked absolutely awful with bruises on her arms and legs, blistered hands and hair that stood straight up, but to Stoick she had never looked better. A bottle was revealed from within her coat that she held out to Stoick.

"Here you go Chief." Her eyes were looking at him, but they didn't seem to be actually focused anywhere.

"Are you alright Astrid?" Stoick asked concerned.

"Sure" she replied and passed out on the spot.

* * *

Olvor's eyes widened as Stoick walked back into the cave carrying the small unconscious warrior.

"Not another one" she said looking for a place to put Astrid.

The sun had not quite risen and the cave was still full of sleeping and mostly snoring Vikings who were either among the injured, or had come in for a rest a few hours ago. Olvor spotted old Krabbi, a rather unpleasant man who's name suited him well, making a horrible noise over by Hiccups rock; as one of the wounded he had been allowed to spend the entire night inside the cave, even though his only malady was a twisted right ankle, so Olvor gave him a quick kick in the seat of his britches.

"Get up you lazy beggar and make room for someone who's really hurt. And as for the rest of you, anyone who is able to walk can go outside and make themselves useful; the sun's almost up."

As the weary Vikings yawned, rubbed their eyes and made their way outside, Olvor picked up a yak skin and spread it out on the ground near the Gronckle lava before returning to take the brave girl from the Chiefs arms.

"I don't think it was wise to have let her go; if only we'd known a storm was coming."

"I did know" Stoick replied "but I wasn't quick enough to stop her."

Olvor smiled as she placed Astrid gently on the rug. "She is a determined Girl" the doctor noted.

"And a successful one too" Stoick agreed as he handed Olvor the bottle and threw the satchel on the ground.

"Well this makes it all worthwhile" Olvor nodded.

* * *

**Need your parcel delivered in a hurry? Then you need to call Gobber Express Deliveries.**

**At GobEx, we promise to deliver your item with a maximum of fuss - screeching dragons, raging storms, cranky Viking chiefs, we've coped with it all and at no greater cost than a slow sea voyage.**

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* * *

_**Seriously people why would you want to read this rubbish when there are so many pretty kitty's on YouTube? **_**= ^..^=**

**Sorry everyone but he's in a bad mood again, or as I like to call it 'The Dark Side of the Moon' :-D**


	13. Chapter 13

13 Make 'Em Scream

Olvor smiled as she removed the cork, and checked the contents of the bottle Astrid had retrieved from Berk for her.

"Oh yeah; that's the stuff!" she exclaimed.

"Wait a minute" Stoick exclaimed as he caught a faint, yet distinct aroma from the open bottle "isn't that the vile stuff you put on my shoulder?"

Several months ago Stoick was assisting Fishlegs's father with the rebuilding of the Ingerman home after yet another dragon raid, when a falling beam had struck him and left a splinter of considerable size in his shoulder. As was usual, the brave Chief showed no sign of the pain when Olvor had removed it and wiped away the blood. Stoick had been very pleased with himself as some of the village children had been staring intently to see if any tear would form in corner of the mighty chief's eye during the operation, and all those present had seemed suitably impressed with his bravery. After the worst was over and Stoick was more relaxed and unprepared as Olvor opened up a flask and poured some strong smelling fluid onto a clean cloth.

"This'll make it better" she said as she dabbed at the wound.

All the children had fallen over laughing when Stoick had jumped up and roared in pain.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Stoick had screamed at Olvor.

"Keep it clean and make 'em scream" Olvor had declared "that's what I always say."

The memory of the intensely painful sting was still quite fresh in Stoicks memory.

"Won't that evil concoction kill him? After all he's not as strong as I..."

"It won't kill him, it'll save him; if the wound goes bad he'll die for sure" Olvor was adamant.

"How do you know it won't kill him?" Stoick asked suspiciously.

As Olvor began to delicately remove the binding she had wrapped around Hiccups leg the night before, she told Stoick a little story of her youth.

"Back when my father was still alive, he had kept a strange contraption that could turn perfectly good grains into a liquid that when consumed, could send a Viking temporarily blind."

"Oh yes" Stoick grinned "I remember that... that... drink; I also suspect it was that stuff that eventually killed him."

"It wouldn't surprise me" Olvor agreed "well one day I decided that I really needed to dispose of particularly volatile batch before it could cause any more problems."

"You mean send him blind?"

"Exactly" Olvor agreed.

"Your dad would not have been happy about that" Stoick frowned as Olvor continued working on Hiccup.

"He wasn't but it had to be done. Well I stumbled and tripped while carrying the large wooden crate full of bottles and dropped it leaving a long gash on me lower leg; I still have the scar" she bragged and continued her story.

"The cut was a bad one about ten inches long and I found it hard to walk much further with the heavy crate, so I decided to dump me father's fire water where I was. So I pulled out the stopper and began to pour out the contents of the first bottle onto the ground, but the stream struck a rock and splashed back over the lower part of me leg near the ankle."

"Ah... so you have suffered from the agony for yourself have you?" Stoick felt as if justice had been done.

"Oh yes, first hand; I have definitely felt the sting of pain from this... stuff as you call it. I didn't want me dad to know that I'd taken his entire stock, so I quickly stuffed the end of me scarf into me mouth to muffle the scream. When the pain had finally subsided, I finished me task with a little more care before I slipped back into the house, where I replaced the crate and wrapped me wound. Well over the next few days it became pretty clear that the cut was infected but strangely, only at the top whereas the lower part of the cut that had been splashed from the bottle was clean and healing nicely."

"So that was when you discovered that the alcohol kept wounds from going bad" Stoick nodded.

"It certainly helped and so I decided use it to clean up the rest of me leg but I'd thrown it all out."

"Then how did you..." Stoick began.

"Well dad was still making the stuff so I just snuck down to where he was makin' it, and drained off a flask full. Then when I was far enough away so nobody would hear me yell, I poured some on me leg. It didn't hurt as much on an old wound as it did on a fresh one, but it also took longer to heal so I figured that it was always best to clean a wound as soon as I had the chance or, as I like to say 'Make 'em scream to keep it clean'; understand?"

"Yes but wasn't it the other way round? Keep it clean and..."

"Who cares; it works however you say it. So then... after me ol' Dad died I just kept makin' it for wounds and cuts."

Olvor had finished the slow and delicate process of unwrapping Hiccups leg and after studying it for a short time, she mixed some of the bottles contents into a small bowl of fresh water and returned to the work of cleaning and re-dressing the wound.

"I should have asked Astrid for more gear from home" she straightened up and grinned "but we'll make do though."

"This bag was with her dragon." Stoick picked up the satchel and handed it to Olvor.

"It might be worth a look" Olvor declared as she looked inside "Hmmm; Gothi must have been there when Astrid arrived."

* * *

"It looks to me like you've had quite a night ya big blue lizard" Gobber liked to talk to animals because they never interrupted him and they never talked back. This was one time though when he wished the dragon would.

"Pity ya can 'nay talk cause I'd love to hear all about your trip." he sighed as he hobbled slowly away.

Stormfly sat by the fire nearest to the cave with Hoark the Haggard, who was still trying to get used to being so close to a Nadder without an axe in his hand. This was also the first time he was so close to a dragon when its rider was not nearby, but Gobber had asked Hoark to take good care of the heroic beast, so he thought that he may as well give it a good try.

Most of Berks Dragon Riders still only possessed a few days of experience with their mounts, but the incredible display that they had put on the day before, had made every Viking look upon the children as experts in dragon handling; Hoark felt sure it was a skill that he could learn as well if he put his mind to it.

"Would ya like some pickled fish?" Hoark picked up a stick from near the fire and held it out to Stormfly; the dragon sniffed it and wondered what the man had done to ruin this perfectly good fish.

"Nice fish; tastes much better than ol' Hoark does."

'If I wasn't so hungry' thought Stormfly as she took the horrid offering.

"Oh good." Hoark gave a sigh of relief while Stormfly decided to take a rest by the fire, and then head off to catch something a little fresher and a lot tastier when she was feeling stronger.

* * *

Back at the beach, Gobber was assessing the progress being made on the wrecked longships. Sigrid was heading up a team charged with pulling anything usable that could be salvaged from the hulks and with the few tools they possessed, her team had begun to amass a small pile of thick iron nails, hatches with hinges and metal plates as well as shields, oars and an ever growing pile of planks and beams.

"Not bad for a start" Gobber seemed satisfied.

Most of the ships that had been pulled ashore late yesterday afternoon were smashed, burnt to the waterline or both, and the rest were composed only of the bows torn off during the salvage efforts. But even these were like a treasure to a Viking stuck on an island with no resources except rocks, more rocks, wild dragons and rocks.

"And that's just the gear for ship building" Sigrid pointed out.

"We found a nice little stash stowed in that bow over on the end" She led Gobber several feet away to another pile.

"We've got another sail more fresh water aaand..." she grinned "two fishing nets."

"Brilliant" said Gobber hungrily "I think I'll put those to some good use today because that pickled fish makes some people very unpleasant to be near to."

"And you're one of them." Sigrid noted.

"Well I do have a very delicate tummy" Gobber explained as he hobbled away.

"Gobber, come look at this!" the voice came from Thorfinn who ran up to Gobber while beckoning him back to the water's edge.

"What have ya got?" he enquired.

Thorfinn led him to a spot nearby and squatted down, pointing into the water.

"Look, do ya see it?"

Gobber squinted as he attempted to see through the glare on the water, and slowly as his eyes adjusted, he began to make out a shape. About fifteen to twenty feet below the surface was one of their ships and although it was damaged and had lost its mast, it was completely intact.

"It must have been holed and gone down before it got too badly burnt." Thorfinn was confident "so if we could bring her up to the beach without doing too much more damage, we may be able to repair it."

"Aye" agreed Gobber. "I can see some sharp looking rocks down there but we should be able to rig up something to get her over them; I'll tell Stoick and you all see if you can find any more like that one."

"We'll try, but that's the only one I've seen so far without too much fire damage."

"Do your best then." Gobber was unwilling to see anything but good today. After surviving yesterday's monster and last night's storm, he felt that nothing could stop them; especially now that they had the dragons on their side.

The sun finally decided to show itself over the horizon as Gobber approached the camp. He turned to look up at the sky when his ears heard the familiar whooshing sound of dragon wings; some of the other Vikings were also looking up and a few were instinctively gripping the hilts of their swords.

"It's okay" Gobber remarked casually "it's one of ours."

He had expected to see young Snotlout return on his Nightmare sometime during that morning but he had not expected to see Olaf riding with him; the respected warrior and skipper of the longship Sea Mist was looking as white as a sheet while sitting on the dragons back and gripping its neck with all his strength and his eyes shut tight.

"Are we d-d-down yet?" Olaf enquired.

Gobber lent in close to the shivering Viking and whispered gently into his ear.

"Hullo Olaf... pleasant flight?"

"Oh Gobber" Olaf opened his eyes and fell to the ground with a thud. "I've never been so frightened in all me life; that little troll told me it would be easy."

"Hey; that was easy" protested Snotlout "you should have tried flying all the way here from Berk."

"Leave him alone Snotlout" Gobber helped his friend up "some Vikings aren't used to flying yet."

"And some never will be" gasped Olaf with finality.

Gobber helped him over to the fire where he sat down opposite Hoark and his big blue friend.

"I could barely believe it when the boy told us how he and the dragons had saved us from the monster, but this is even harder to take in" said Olaf, his voice still shaking.

Hoark patted the Nadders flank "Once you realise they're not gonna eat ya... it's not so bad."

* * *

Gobber wandered into the cave as Olvor continued to dress Hiccups leg.

"Where's Astrid?" he enquired as Stoick pointed to the sleeping girl on the yak skin.

"Ah...; how's the lad doing?"

"Olvor cleaned his leg with her father's grain alcohol, and he didn't flinch" Stoick said grimly.

"Whoa! that's not bad; I remember you screamed like a... sorry... go on."

Olvor picked up the report "I've seen this kind of thing before; remember about ten years ago when Krabbi fell off a rock ledge and rolled all the way down to Crescent Bay? Well some of the tribe carried him back I cleaned up his scratches with the same stuff, and he didn't move or yell or anything. Then he stays asleep like Hiccup is for the next five days before he wakes up feeling a little sore, but otherwise fine. It was like his body was taking its time to rest and heal before he wakes up."

"So this is good then" Stoick stated.

"Well I hope so, but I have to be honest; sometimes they don't wake up... they just waste away and die. I'm sorry to be so blunt Stoick, but there is still a lot to be hopeful for; his heart still sounds strong, just a little slow."

Olvor hated being honest; she wanted to say with confidence that everything would work out fine, but she could not lie to her Chief and Stoick was pleased about that.

"I appreciate both your honesty and the care you take of... of all the tribe."

There was a short silence that uncharacteristically, Gobber broke delicately.

"Olaf's back Chief."

"Right then; let's go make some plans" Stoick declared as he strode from the cave.

* * *

_**I've been thinking about some other Cat Stories you all could write about and there are so many (although I often feel that my whole life could be referred to as 'The Hunger Games').**_

_**Just take the Harry Potter series for example, you could have;**_

_**1\. **__**Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone**__** (with the little tinkly bell inside)  
2\. **__**Harry Potter and the Litter Tray of Secrets**__**  
3\. **__**Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**__** Laundry  
4\. **__**Harry Potter and the Goblet of Tuna**__**  
5\. **__**Harry Potter and the Order of the Persian**__**  
6\. **__**Harry Potter and the Half-Dog Prince**__**  
7\. **__**Harry Potter and the Deathly Meows**_

_**See what you can come up with if you will only try!**_

_**With love (but not for dog owners), Moon **_**=^..^=**


	14. Chapter 14

14 The Council of Dragon Island

Stoick the Vast, High Chief of Berk stood near the mouth of the small cave at the base of the volcanic mountain and reassessed his situation. It had been light for only a short time and half of the sun was still all that could be seen above the horizon but the tribe was already very busy cleaning up the camp after last night's storm. There were three rock fires where much of the activity was concentrated as the people of Berk created a temporary home. Around the nearest fire, about five yards from the cave, sat a few recovering warriors and a sleeping Nadder; all slowly drying out after the rain. The second fire was a little further away between two large boulders that were now connected by the huge frame and sail shelter that Stoick had observed being raised at first light.

It was the third fire that drew Stoick attention, for this was where Hiccups Night Fury rested with Snotlout and his dragon; the Chief strode over while Gobber struggled to keep up on his one good leg. The blacksmith was glad that Hiccup's missing leg still had a knee, because knees made it much easier to walk fast and the boy would need to walk very fast to keep up with his father.

"How are you doing today Toothless?" Stoick leant over and placed a hand on the black dragons back.

Toothless pushed out his front claws, raised his back legs and gave a long low growl as he stretched himself out. When he was done, he sat back down and seemed to smile at Stoick.

"Glad to hear it" the chief laughed, but then he noticed that some of the mangled control cords and rods were still wrapped around the dragons tail.

"Gobber, do you think you could see to this?" he indicated the tail hardware.

"I'll even start planning a new one so he and the lad can go flying as soon as they both feel up to it."

"Good... very good indeed" Stoick appreciated the trust Gobber was showing in his son's eventual recovery.

"Snotlout; go find your father and tell him that I said to gather all the others for a tribe council meeting outside the cave."

"You got it Chief" came the standard reply as the boy ran off feeling important.

Within fifteen minutes Stoick was sitting on a wooden beam by the fire, surrounded by the many of the people that he trusted most; Gobber and Olvor stood on either side behind him with Thorfinn, Olaf and Snotlout's father Spitelout on his right, Sigrid, Agnar, Freya and Fjori sitting opposite while Hoark the Haggard took up the entire left side with Stormfly snoring peacefully.

"Before I start, is there anything of urgency that I should know about?" Stoick enquired.

The Vikings looked around at each other curiously for a few seconds before Sigrid spoke.

"Much to report, but nothing life or death."

"Good, well we've got a..." Stoick began

"Err Chief Stoick sir" the frail voice came from Fishlegs Ingerman who was hiding behind Gobber.

"Would it be alright if I sat in with you for this meeting?"

Stoick was quite surprised at the request, but was inclined to suppress his usual fury and 'Warriors Only' policy, and so once again he used his special Chiefing voice with the subtle intent of letting the others know his mind while allowing them the opportunity to agree with his position; Stoick was very good at this style of leadership that made everyone feel like they were a part of the decision making process rather than just being unwilling followers.

"Hmm... maybe with your dragon experience, and in light of the bravery you all showed yesterday, we should allow this; unless anybody has an objection."

He looked around to see and hear a general murmur of agreement and so he gestured for Fishlegs to take a place near the front where Stoick could keep an eye on him. Seeing an opportunity for some advancement in his warrior status, Snotlout slipped in too and stood beside his father and although Stoick noticed this, he decided to let it slide. He was greatly relieved though that the twins weren't there as well, they could be a little disruptive in the same way that winter on Berk could be a little cold; and so the Dragon Island council began.

"Right; let's make this quick as we've got a lot to get done today" Stoick began. "Taking into account what happened yesterday, and how we have lost every ship that we sailed here, we appear to be in a reasonably good condition with only a few injuries and I believe that your broken leg is the worst of the lot Hoark; after Hiccup of course."

"I've had worse" mumbled Hoark, and indeed he had.

"How is Hiccup?" asked Agnar; a general murmur of enquiry rising around him.

"What happened to Hiccup?" Olaf asked puzzled.

"It was amazing..." began Gobber excitedly but Stoick quickly brought him to heel.

"Hiccups resting for now, and I'll fill you in after the meeting Olaf because we have to make the most of the day; so then... the first order is food and water."

Freya stood "I've looked over what's been found in the wrecks and we've only enough of the pickled fish for the morning meal and some for midday, but the main problem is water; with this many people and just a few small kegs it'll all be gone before the day's end."

"Err, Chief..." Fishlegs raised his hand slightly but Stoick held up a finger and gave him a look that said 'patience'.

"What's the latest with the shipwreck salvaging efforts?"

Sigrid took her turn "There are many more to be dragged up today so I've got a few men down at the beach with the twins and the Zippleback getting ready to start, and although I can't guarantee that we'll find more water kegs, there's already been two nets recovered so we should have some fresh fish by lunch time."

"Oooh!" an idea came to Fishlegs, but he quickly clamped his hand over his mouth as Sigrid continued.

"The best news is that Thorfinn spotted a wreck further out that looks repairable; if we can get it over the rocks and up on the shore of course."

"That is good news" Stoick nodded "Olaf, what's happening with your group; are they on their way back?"

"Not yet Stoick; when we got the word yesterday that you were all still alive, we started to walk back but it was obvious that we wouldn't make it back before dark so we made for a cave that Odd had noticed and we made our camp there. When Snotlout came back and told me that you only had a small cave here I thought I'd better check with you about whether to bring 'em all back now or have two camps."

Stoick considered for a moment and spoke. "It's true we've only one small cave here, but this is where all the ships are and where most of the work will be done, so I'd say best bring everyone back. Now then; let's talk dragons."

Half of the group looked at Stormfly and the others looked to Fishlegs as Stoick continued.

"There are many wild dragons in the area, but they seem to be keeping their distance for now; do you think they'll that give us any trouble Fishlegs?"

The young Viking nervously considered his response knowing he would have to impress quickly.

"Um... err... well they might be Chief because although they only seem curious at the moment, we are on their island and if we should ever appear to be a threat, it may upset them... but I think I have an idea."

"Good" Stoick encouraged him "spit it out lad."

"Well sir, when Hiccup was showing us how to make friends with a dragon, he told us that the first thing he tried, was to offer Toothless a fish."

"Who's Toothless?" asked Thorfinn.

"That's ol' Krabbi" replied Fjori laughed "he's got none of his own left."

Stoick dropped his head into his hands and spoke firmly.

"Toothless is the name my son has given to the Night Fury... now please continue Fishlegs."

"Err... yes Chief, well if we can catch enough fish for the tribe then maybe we could also try and tame some of the wild dragons, and then start to train them too; also a large dragon can carry a Yak so bringing back a large barrel of water from Berk should not be a problem for Snotlout's dragon."

"No need" came a voice from the cave mouth "there's plenty of water on the next island."

* * *

Astrid had awoken after little more than an hour of rest, and arisen to find herself not on the beach where she had passed out, but back in the cave and almost alone. She stood up, went over to Hiccup and saw that his leg had been re-dressed and covered with a piece of clean linen that was wrapped over the end of the leg as far as his knee; there was also the unmistakable aroma of the grain alcohol doing its work to keep his wound from becoming infected. After she had looked towards the mouth of the cave, just to make sure they were alone, she leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek as a tear fell onto his face.

"Don't die" she whispered "please don't die... I love you."

Astrid inhaled deeply to regain her composure; she wanted so much to punch Hiccup in the arm and make him wake up, but she suppressed the urge and wandered over towards the entrance of the cave where she heard of Fishlegs plan for bringing water from Berk.

* * *

A collective gasp of amazement rose up from around the campfire as the bruise covered little blonde wreck emerged from the cave. Olvor quickly moved to help Astrid over to a seat between Hoark and Stormfly, where she placed her arm around the dragon's neck and firmly scratched under its jaw; without opening her eyes, Stormfly nuzzled the young girl and gave a satisfied purr.

Olvor began to explain "Astrid and her dragon..."

"Stormfly!" Astrid interrupted.

"...and Stormfly" Olvor corrected "left for Berk last night before the storm to bring back some important supplies for me; they only returned this morning at first light."

Another round of murmurs moved through the group.

"You rode your dragon all the way to Berk and back in one night... and in that storm?" Olaf exclaimed "It took us more than two days to sail here in good weather."

Although Stoick had realised the night before how different life would be with dragons as allies instead of enemies, this was the first time it truly struck home to all the other Vikings.

"We could all fly back home today" Thorfinn exclaimed excitedly, but then wondered "could we?"

"I know I won't be" Olaf was determined "I'm never going up on one of those again."

Stoick stood up for the meeting was getting a little out of hand.

"I'm sure it's not as easy as just giving a dragon a fish and then start riding it back to Berk, and I don't think Fishlegs was suggesting that at all; were you lad?"

"Oh no sir" he agreed with Stoick "I thought that we could simply show the wild dragons that they could trust us; we can start to train them later when they get more used to us."

"Fishlegs is right sir" Astrid spoke up "Hiccup told me that it took him more than a week of trial and error to ride Toothless, and the other dragons like Stormfly here, had been imprisoned for a long time before we tried to train them. Hiccup had also spent a whole night befriending the dragons in the arena before we even started training them, and although I don't know exactly what Hiccup did, if we follow Fishlegs advice on winning over the wild dragons with fish and friendship, it should be worth the effort in the long run."

Sigrid nodded thoughtfully "That Zippleback saved us much time and effort in getting those shipwrecks ashore, which enabled us to have some of the salvaged supplies in our hands before the storm, so if that's not worth a few fishes, I'll go spare."

Stoick still had one more question.

"Where is this island with the water Astrid, how did you find it?"

"Erm... last night we had a bit of trouble getting back."

"No kidding" mumbled Gobber.

"I... well... fell off" she lied not wanting to admit that she had leapt off her dragon on purpose when the bottle had fallen out of her bag "and Stormfly had to dive down to catch me; then we crashed onto a beach."

"You fell off... and the dragon saved you?" questioned Spitelout. "It didn't just fly away and leave you to die?"

Everyone present looked toward the sleeping dragon with a new respect; they could understand how a rider could make use of a dragon in battle, for they had seen that very thing yesterday with their own eyes, but for the beast to show such care as to save a falling rider out of nothing but loyalty, was something that none of them would ever have considered possible before.

"Yes she did save me, but after the long flight, the storm and the crash, she couldn't go on any more so we rested for about half an hour until the light came. As the wind died down, I could hear water behind me so we went to look and found a large fresh water rock pool being fed by a waterfall; it looked to me as if it was only full after a rain storm, so there's plenty there now of course."

"How far is this island?" Stoick sounded pleased

"Well after we both had taken a drink, I looked out over the ocean and could see Dragon Island near the horizon; it only took us a few minutes to get back here."

"Right then" Stoick stood up and began to give the orders.

"Fishlegs; take your Gronckle for a flight around the point and let Olaf's group know that it's time for them to make their way back. How long should it take them Olaf?"

"About an hour and a half I'd say" he replied.

"Good; Sigrid and Thorfinn can get the teams ready to raise that longship later today if possible. Spitelout and Fjori can grab a net each, and anyone you need to help, and bring in a catch before lunch time. Snotlout you can collect any empty kegs you can find and take a trip to Astrids Island for more water supplies while the rest of you can help out where needed; and get the camp expanded before tonight because I'd like to think that everyone will have a place to sleep tonight when they're not on guard duty, so if there are no questions..."

Stoick silently looked about him for a few seconds "Right, let's get to it."

As everyone took to their appointed tasks, Stoick placed his hand firmly on Fishlegs shoulder "Good job lad for a first council; come and see me when you get back because I've got another little task for you."

"What would you like me to do Chief?" said Astrid wearily.

Stoick spoke firmly "Get back into that cave and don't come out until you are fully rested, understand?" he stared sternly into her eyes until the look of protest left them, and she slinked away back to bed.

"Good!" Stoick was satisfied.

"Now then Chief" Olaf insisted "tell what's happened with Hiccup."

The two men sat back down as Stoick explained proudly what his boy had done.

* * *

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**Make your appointment at Vidal Gobber today... and don't forget your raincoat.**


	15. Chapter 15

15 Much to Do

The sun was high overhead when the Stormfly's eyes flickered open; even though she had slept away the morning, the latent effects of the previous night's long and wild journey made her feel like an absolute wreck on legs and so she decided it was time to freshen up a little.

It was a pleasant stroll down to the pebble covered beach past all the Vikings who were seeing to their important tasks and the day was bright and joyous. But although the sun was warm, the air was still quite fresh and she knew that the water would be almost as cold as ice. With virtually every step someone would call out and wave to her and in return she would simply nod her head in return as she approached the shore; the dragon fearlessly braced herself against the cold and dove in with a huge splash and instantly she felt more awake and alive as the near freezing water enveloped her completely. Turning back toward the shore, the dragon stood in the shallows and began to duck her head under the surface and then lifted it to the sky. Over and over she did this, letting the water wash over her till she felt fully refreshed and ready to face the rest of the day.

A small crowd of Vikings had gathered to watch her bathe as they had never seen a dragon acting in this manner before, but they were not the people Stormfly wanted to be with; if only Fish Boy and the blonde girl were here, then she would be one happy dragon indeed.

"Hey there girl" Fishlegs greeted Stormfly as she walked back into the camp wet to await the return of her rider and friend.

Fishlegs and his Gronckle had returned from their short trip around the headland over an hour ago. They received a much better reception from the second camp Vikings than Snotlout did the previous evening. A Gronckle is a deadly foe and a formidable ally, but does not look anywhere near as imposing as a Monstrous Nightmare with its long claws and fiery visage; the Gronckle even looks friendly with its circular shape and natural smile so it was not surprising to Fishlegs that many Vikings wanted to get closer and even touch it, so he took the time to show them where dragons liked to be scratched and it wasn't long before they were all so comfortable together that many were even wanting to ride the beast.

"Olaf looked terrified when young Snotlout had taken off. We could hear him yellin' all the way to the point, but it looked like fun to me" Odd surmised.

"I'm sorry everyone but Chief Stoick told me to go straight back for more orders" Fishlegs informed them. "We've got five trained dragons but two are grounded at the moment, and one is ridden by Ruff and Tuff leaving only me and Snotlout so I'd better get back. I do hope to start training more dragons as soon as Stoick gives the okay, so you should be able to ride one then."

As Fishlegs and his Gronckle lifted off, Odd watched them sombrely.

"It's amazing" he pondered out loud "I bin a killin' dragons all my life and now I actually feel sorry for the one being ridden by the Thorston twins."

A general murmur of agreement filled the air and everyone nodded as they went to pack up their camp.

* * *

The tempting aroma of fish cooking on a hot rock wafted back into the cave making Astrid's mouth water as she slowly awoke; four more hours sleep had done wonders and now her head was clear enough to feel the pain in her body and the stiffness in her limbs. As her mind snapped back into consciousness, her thoughts instantly turned to Hiccup so she jumped up and checked the nearby rock only to find it bare with no Yak skin covering and no Hiccup. Astrid inhaled sharply at the thought that Hiccup had awoken and she had slept right through it, so she rushed to the cave entrance and 'THUMP' she ran straight into Olvor who was coming the other way.

"WHOA THERE! What's the hurry Astrid?" asked Olvor as the much shorter girl bounced off her.

"Where's Hiccup, is he okay?" the young girl blurted out.

Olvor grabbed Astrid's shoulders and turned her back around to the opposite side to the cave where a roughly built, three plank bed had been placed with some faintly glowing rocks beneath it.

"I needed to get him off the rock when the cave began to get cool down" the surgeon explained.

"I'll get Stormfly in here to heat up more rocks..." Astrid began.

"Oh no you won't" Olvor was adamant "Hiccup will explode if you bring a flame near him with his dressing soaked in alcohol."

Astrid panicked "Won't the rocks set him off?"

"Don't worry we tested them first, and we did it well away from the cave. It turns out that when pour the alcohol on a red hot rock, it just boils away but when it gets near a flame, WOOF up she goes. So now we simply bring in warm rocks from outside and put them under this wonderful bed that Gobber knocked up and 'Odd's your uncle' one nice warm convalescing hero. I must admit though that I would feel much better if he were out of this cave and back in a warm house on Berk."

Astrid moved over and sat on the edge of the bed putting her hand on Hiccups arm; she could feel the warmth of the rocks on her ankles, but she was beginning to wonder if he would ever wake up at all. Shaking off such maudlin thoughts, she arose once more.

"Well I suppose I had better go and see what Stoick needs me to do" and she made for the exit.

"Wouldn't you like to clean up a little first?" Olvor remarked casually.

Astrid stopped dead in her tracks and looked down at herself; she was by no means a vain person but she did like to keep herself neat and clean. As she felt her wild and unkempt hair, Astrid began to see the doctor's point and sighed as she sat back down on the bed.

Olvor picked up a bowl and a cloth with a keg of water and knelt down next to Astrid; she filled the bowl, wet the cloth and began to clean up the pretty but filthy little face. The water was cold but refreshing and it helped Astrid to feel more awake, just as it had done for Stormfly during her recent swim.

As Olvor wiped around her neck and down her arms, Astrid sighed. "Thank you, I'm glad you stopped me from going out there looking like this."

"Oh... so you don't remember the meeting outside the cave this morning; you made quite an impression."

Astrids eyes slowly widened with the realisation and memory of the mornings event "Oh no! What did I do?"

"As I said, you made quite an impression when you emerged from the cave looking like baby Yak."

Astrid let her head fall back as she moaned.

"But you made a much bigger impression with your announcement of your water find, and support for Fishlegs."

"I supported Fishlegs?" Astrid looked puzzled "what for?"

"With his idea about feeding the wild dragons to gain their trust and moreover, everybody was stunned into silence when they were told about your little trip to Berk last night. Oh... and nice name Stormfly; strong and invokes feelings of sturdiness and reliability."

"Rrrrrrrmmmmmm" Astrid moaned "I'll never live this down" but Olvor was quite annoyed at this comment.

"You won't need too; you came across to those Vikings as a force to be reckoned with, and as somebody who will go to any lengths to get the job done no matter what the personal cost to you AND... without bragging about it afterwards like a certain Nightmare rider... now take off your boots."

Astrid began to feel ashamed of her vanity; she had always managed to keep it in check in the past. Then suddenly, Olvor hit her with a blindsider.

"So then, how long have you and Hiccup been um...friends?" she smiled knowingly and raised her eyebrows.

* * *

Fishlegs came up with the idea of Gronckle fishing when he noticed several wild dragons diving into the water out near the sea stacks; they caught some very large fish while the Vikings close to shore could only catch some smaller ones. It had happened like this.

When the boy had returned from his trip around the headland, Stoick had given permission for a trial in feeding and training the wild dragons, but only when enough fish had been caught to feed the tribe for the rest of the day so Fishlegs had wandered down to the shore to lend a hand with the fishing. Fjori was sympathetic with his desire to get started on the dragon training, but the catch was low.

"Sorry lad but with all the fishing boats back on Berk, we can't get out to the big schools."

Fishlegs had his first brainstorm "The fishing boats! Snotlout and I could fly back to Berk and sail one here."

"Nice thought lad" Fjori replied "but they're not as fast as a longship so it would take you three days at least to sail one here; also they're not built for the open ocean, just for offshore fishing trips near Berk."

A genuine look of disappointment came over Fishlegs face as he helped Fjori and the others pull in another catch of six fish only eight to ten inches long; they looked so small in such a large net and although he knew that both the Viking and their dragons would have plenty to eat today, the wild dragon training would have to wait. But that was when he noticed a wild Monstrous Nightmare standing on a rock sea stack with a fish in its mouth that must have been over two and a half feet long. It tossed the fish up in the air and swallowed it whole just as another idea began to form in Fishlegs mind.

"Mr. Fjori sir, can you tell me what you think of this idea please?"

"What idea is that son?"

"Well, we can't throw the net out far enough to get the big fish so why don't I carry the net out on my dragon, and throw it right on top of a large school? It should be better than having a boat because I could see exactly where the fish were before I drop the net."

Fjori wondered if it could indeed work.

"Your dragon is strong, but you'd never lift a net full of fish."

"I wouldn't need to; I could tie a line to the Gronckles collar rope and pull the net to the shore while it was still in the water and then I would land the dragon and we could all pull up the net together."

Fjori's eyes grew wider.

"That is worth a try; and besides if it don't work, we'll soon be back bringing in the small ones, so let's do it."

The large net was heavy on the Gronckle's back but fortunately it did not have to fly very far with the load. Fishlegs urged the dragon to lift off and fly out to sea about fifteen feet up as he guided it to where the wild Nightmare had caught its lunch. Looking down, he could see a dark mass moving around below the surface of the water so he positioned himself near the centre of the blobbish mass and heaved the net from the Gronckle; as it sank into the water Fishlegs turned his dragon toward the shore, but the weight of the full net was far greater than he had anticipated, and the Gronckle strained against the rope with its feet touching the surface of the water. Fishlegs changed his strategy a little by pulling back on the rope collar and slowing the Gronckles forward movement therefore allowing it to gain a few feet in altitude while still progressing slowly toward the shore.

From up on the beach Fjori could see the dragon straining with the load and he instantly knew that they would require much more help, so while Fishlegs continued to make steady progress towards the shore, Fjori fetched Spitelout and eight others to stand ready.

The Gronckle flew over the men and landed behind them; they grabbed the rope and began to pull as Fishlegs jumped off the dragon and ran to help while urging the Gronckle to keep walking up the beach. The Vikings began to cheer as the top of the net broke the surface and size of the catch became apparent, but then all progress halted when the base of the net struck the shore so Fjori called to the other Vikings preparing the ship salvage operation to come running, for there were far more fish than they could handle. The cheering crowd even ran into the water to pull on the net when no more space for them could be found for them along the rope.

As the load moved up the beach, a part of the net was caught on the side of a sharp rock and tore a hole the size of Fishlegs in the side. Fjori walked over to where the biggest pile of fish he had ever seen was pouring out of the net and onto the beach. Making an obvious gesture, he picked up a fine looking cod and lifted it over his head to the roar of the crowd and then made his way up the beach to the Gronckle and offered it the fish. A hush fell over them as the round dragon sniffed the fresh meal and then another cheer erupted when it took the fish with delight.

Spitelout slapped Fjori on the back and gave an order for all the dragons that were helping them to be fed and for fish to be taken to Toothless and Stormfly up at the cave. A few Vikings began cleaning and gutting some of the fish for lunch while the rest of the crowd returned to their work. Fjori thought for a moment before going over to talk with Thorfinn.

"How are the things looking for the ship raising?" he asked.

"Not bad, we've knocked up a low ramp with some of the salvaged wood and placed it over the submerged rocks so we don't do any more damage to the hull, but we have to take care not to rip the bow off when we start to pull; it's probably stuck in the sand don't ya know" Thorfinn informed his friend.

"Well... I'll tell you what I do know; young Fishlegs has come up with an idea that just may help you out too" Fjori grinned knowingly.

* * *

_**I've been looking for another series of book or films to be CATorised and stumbled across some teenage vampire books called The Twilight Saga. I thought they would be good because with my impressive fangs; I do look a bit vampirish but then I noticed that the second book is called... wait for it... NEW MOON! WHAT THE HEY! Is Stephenie Meyer trying to get me replaced? I can tell you now I am not a happy kitty and I am planning to write my own new book series. Volume 1 will be called 'New Stephenie' to be followed by the sequel Breaking Down (Marty's car into tiny bits with my mighty claws).**_

_**With love, Moon**_** =^..^= (**_**cats rule)**_**.**


	16. Chapter 16

16 It Aint No Secret

"YOU KNOW!?" Astrid yelled at Olvor.

"Oh I'm not the only one. Stoicks defiantly noticed and Gobbers been making the occasional sly comment. So come on girl, tell me all about it; has he kissed you yet?" Olvor knew she was prying but did not care at all.

"N-no" Astrid stammered "he hasn't kissed me..."

"Oh... so you've kissed him then. That's surprising; I always thought that he was the one with the massive crush, while you seemed to be quite aloof and distant with him." Olvor finished wiping Astrid's feet and stood up to get her 'doctoring bag' as she like to call it.

"Well... that's kind of how it was between us, but a few days ago things changed when he kidnapped me."

"Hmmph... that is a surprise; I've known Vikings to kidnap girls from other tribes, but never one who lives just a few houses away, and Hiccup never seemed to be the girl snatching type. I mean, even Stoick was just a romantic in his younger days."

"Really, Stoick?" now it was Astrids turn to be surprised.

A Viking surgeons professional life consisted mainly of cutting off badly damaged limbs and sewing up deep wounds with the occasional fang, claw or splinter removal, so the contents of Olvor's doctoring bag consisted of nothing more than a sharp knife, a bone saw, two needles, cloth patches, some woollen pads and her flask of alcohol (now smashed and replaced with a bottle), but down in a small side pocket was her one acknowledgment to her gender; a hair brush.

"Oh yes" Olvor continued the conversation as she began to untangle the wild animal that was Astrids hair "He would sing beautiful songs of love to Hiccups mother before they married and treated her like a princess afterwards."

"What's a princess?" Astrid asked.

"Oh no ya don't; I want to hear about this kidnappin' not get sidetracked on to other things... so what happened?"

Astrid recounted once more about her discovery of Hiccups secret, and the romantic flight through the clouds that had changed her mind about his dragon. She went on to tell of how Toothless had taken them to the giant beast, and shown them it was this creature that was the source of all the trouble between the Vikings and the dragons; it was a story she would be asked to tell many times during the next few weeks.

"When we arrived back on Berk I wanted to tell everyone about our discovery, but Hiccup stopped me and I could see the torment in his eyes; he cared so much for the welfare of the dragon, but he also cared for his father and his tribe and he just could not see how it was possible to make everyone understand. After all, he had to force me into seeing the truth and he couldn't do the same with everyone; I didn't listen and neither would they." Olvor stopped brushing as Astrid sighed "My heart went out to him... and that... that was when I kissed him."

"Ahem"

The two ladies jumped to their feet in surprise as Stoick entered the cave and the brush fell to the floor.

"Forgive me for listening, I err... came to see my son and... well... thank you... Astrid for helping me... to understand."

Stoick walked over to the bed and placed his hand on Hiccups head.

"Rest well son... and when you wake up, don't blow it. She's worth the effort."

Turning back to the women, he smiled and nodded to Olvor and then gave Astrid huge bear hug.

"Thank you" he repeated and left the cave only stopping to say over his shoulder "There's plenty of fish... if you're hungry."

Olvor and Astrid just stared at the cave mouth as the huge man departed; their faces bore the same look they would have had if one of the fish had started singing sea shanties.

"I think you have his eternal appreciation." Olvor was adamant.

"I'm not exactly sure what that really means" Astrid exclaimed.

"It means that he will always trust your opinion; also I believe that you may have just become one of our Chiefs youngest advisers, but don't let it go to your head."

"How can I advise the Chief? I'm only fourteen years old."

"Only for a few more days and besides, it only means is that you should be honest when asked, and don't rush to speak when not. Follow his orders and you'll find it's easy; I've been doing it for years.

Astrid thought of how she would soon turn fifteen and suspected that this would be a time in her life that would take some getting use too.

"And I thought puberty was a hassle" she sighed.

* * *

The camp had changed considerably by the time the Vikings sat down to enjoy the mid day meal; the main fire outside the cave had been totally redesigned, which was a strange thing to do to a fire. It was now an amazing new kind of dragon fired cooking area that consisted of a shallow pit about six feet across filled with smooth rocks from the seashore. Slightly taller rocks also sat in the pit forming a horseshoe shape near the edge onto which flatter rocks and salvaged iron plates had been placed. Snotlout's Nightmare had been employed to heat the pit upon its return from Astrid's Island, and many fish had already been cooked on the flat rocks and iron plates.

The fire to the side where the dragons had formerly sat was now Gobbers work area, where he and several assistants were doing their best to get anything constructed or repaired that the Vikings required. But with only a limited amount of time, tools and resources, he was developing quite a backlog of orders. The furthest fire from the cave now resembled a little village with the bows of several longships now inverted and lined up on either side of the sail frame, turning them into crude shelters.

Olvor and Astrid left the cave and went to sit near the cooking fire; Astrid noticed Toothless and Stormfly sitting together with a small pile of large fish so she went and sat between them, petting each one. Although Stormfly seemed very happy to be surrounded by admirers and food, Toothless was more morose and Astrid was sure that he was pining for his friend lying in the cave nearby. Odd came over carrying a small piece of plank wood with a side of cooked salmon on it and handed the meal to her. Like many of the Vikings, he was still a little nervous around the dragons but did not want it to show; especially in the presence of a young girl who had just hugged a Night Fury.

"I've been hearing a little about your adventures" he told her "well done lass." And he returned to his meal.

In between mouthfuls of fish, Stoick addressed the group.

"Well I am very happy to say that we will all soon be totally fed up with the taste of fresh fish."

All who heard him laughed in agreement as they filled their bellies.

"I'm just glad there is no more pickled herring for Gobber" shouted Sigrid "Whew what a pong."

"Watch yer tongue young lady" Gobber warned as even louder laughter ensued.

"So how are we going with the longship" Stoick asked "will we be ready to bring it up today?"

"Should be ready for the first attempt about an hour after lunch" Sigrid replied.

"Aye Chief" Thorfinn added "the new Fishlegs fishing method has given us some ideas that may help."

Stoick was a little confused "What new method?"

"Well Chief, almost all of these fish were caught in one haul." Fjori told the amazed Stoick.

"One haul? You're kidding me."

"Nope I kid ye not; you see Chief we was having a slow time of it, when Fishlegs has the idea to fly the net out on his dragon and drop it right on top of the fish, and this is what we haul up."

"Well done Fishlegs" said Stoick proudly.

"Indeed" Thorfinn picked up the story as Fjori now had a face full of cod. "So we figure that we could do something similar to get more lines on the ship so we don't tear it in two when we start to pull."

"Well done everyone, err... more fish please."

* * *

After the big meal, the beach became a hive of activity as the tribe readied themselves to bring up the ship from its, hopefully not final, resting place. The main rope was wrapped around and tied to the bow with thirty six Vikings ready to pull while a large loop with a rope on each side had been dropped by a hovering Gronckle over the stern of the longship with the left rope harnessed to the twins Zippleback and the right rope, to Snotlout's Nightmare. A final line looped around what was left of the mast, with the other end tied to a small floating log of wood.

"I think we're ready to go Chief" Sigrid said with anticipation.

Stoick strode down to the centre rope and called for attention.

"Right then; don't forget to listen to every instruction... and be ready to run if things go wrong." Stoick grabbed the rope making thirty seven Vikings on the centre line before he gave Sigrid a nod to begin the operation.

"All lines take the strain!" she called.

The ropes creaked as Vikings and dragons tensioned themselves to pull.

"Go Astrid!"

Stormfly and her rider lifted off the beach and flew out to the floating log. Stormfly picked it up in her powerful claws before beginning to fly from right to left and back again, over and over."

Sigrid looked over the scene and continued "Okay pull slowly everyone, and dragon handlers; don't get ahead of the centre line."

The ropes tightened and the Vikings strained as Stormfly continued to move back and forth attempting to break the suction hold that the sand held on the ship. Thorfinn stared intently at the black rag that hung from the centre line ready to signal Ruffnut when the rope attached to the ship, began to move while on the opposite side Spitelout readied to give the same signal to his son.

Astrid was sure that she and Stormfly were moving a little further with each change of direction and her anticipation rose while back on the shore the Vikings continued to strain against the rope with every one of them turning slowly pink and then onto red.

"That's it everyone... pull" Sigrid encouraged.

Spitelout and Thorfinn both saw the black rag move six inches back, so they both called to the dragon handlers nearby."

"Now!" they shouted as Ruffnut and Snotlout led the dragons forward.

Astrid could feel the ship begin to move so she redirected Stormfly to change direction toward the beach. She continued to pull on the mast rope giving Sigrid an excellent gauge as to the ships position below the surface. The two dragons on shore risked damaging the rear of the ship if they moved too fast so Spitelout and Thorfinn continued to keep an extremely close eye on the alignment of the black rag and directed the dragon handlers appropriately, when suddenly the Vikings on the centre line felt a new resistance on the rope as the bow of the ship came into contact with the wooden frame that rested on top of the rocks under the water. As the ship moved up the frame, it lurched forward due to the lower friction of wet wood on wet wood and several Vikings fell over backward, but remembered to roll sideways before they were trodden on.

"Not too fast" Sigrid warned "get the rollers."

Those who had fallen quickly got up and ran over to small piles of round poles and began to lay them in the beach on front of the Vikings who continued pulling back on the centre rope. The poles were not really rollers as they would not roll in the pebbles but they would prevent the keel from digging in and being damaged, as well as keeping the ship high for inspection and repair.

Almost simultaneously the bunt off mast and the figurehead broke through the surface of the water and soon after, the ship was sliding over the rollers and up the beach.

"GET TO THE STAYS" Sigrid shouted final order; she was very pleased to see that their preparations had proven to be so worthwhile as the operation came to a satisfying end.

Snotlout and Ruffnut slowed their dragons to a halt while the Vikings rapidly placed wooden props down both sides of the ship along the waterline to hold it firmly upright. This pleased Astrid greatly as Stormfly certainly could not keep it balanced all night. As the props went up at the stern of the ship, the dragons on the side ropes were untied and allowed to roam at their pleasure once more, while Stormfly lowered the log and rope onto the deck before flying off up the beach.

"WELL DONE EVERYONE" Stoick bellowed as Gobber and Thorfinn began their survey of the damaged hull.

"One more task complete, and now one more to begin" Gobber imparted his wisdom too no one in particular.

* * *

**I know that I've said it before, but I AM NOT PSYCHIC. I first wrote the line** "**He would sing beautiful songs of love to Hiccups mother" months before the second film came out, so I knew nothing about the song 'The Dancing and the Dreaming'. It was just one of those crazy things that can happen to writers sometimes. At the time I was thinking of how cute it would be to imagine BIG TOUGH STOICK serenading his lady love with a Ukulele outside her bedroom window like some kind of big bearded Romeo or Cyrano de Bergerac...**

**...weird huh?**


	17. Chapter 17

17 The Hand That Feeds

Having finished raising the longship, the Vikings left the beach and returned to the camp to continue their many tasks. There was much that needed to be done before they could leave the island, so work on both the camp and Gobber's work area needed to be continued. Stoick the Vast stood back and let his people get on with the inspection of the hull, and assessment of how it could be made seaworthy again, while many others continued to strip the unrepairable wrecks of every last piece of useable wood and iron. He had sent Snotlout and the twins on another trip to Astrid's Island because, unlike Dragon Island it did have trees on it and they were ordered to cut a new mast and replenish the water supplies; a busy Viking is a thirsty Viking.

Stoick could sense somebody behind him, and he knew that nervous silence all too well.

"No need to ask" Stoick said to Fishlegs with his gaze undiverted from the ship "take all the fish you need and good luck with the dragons."

"Err... thank you sir, but we've had requests from some of the others in the tribe" Fishlegs informed the Chief.

"Requests; what for?"

"Well... to get some dragons for them too, so they can train them like ours; everyone seems very impressed with what we have been able to do with the dragons and they are very eager to learn how it's done."

Stoick considered this and began to wonder if the tribe could handle more dragons; he had no idea what they would be like in a larger group but as he looked around, the wild dragons all seemed very content with their new life free from the giant beast. Some flew above the island, and some were off shore diving for food, but most just sat around watching Vikings for entertainment, or sleeping in the warmth of the sunshine.

"Do you think you could do it?" Stoick was beginning to think that Fishlegs may be getting a little bit over confidant.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure Chief; I figured the best thing to do would be to help a few Vikings at a time to approach and feed some of the wild dragons, and see how we go; a kind of learn together kind of thing."

Stoick considered this carefully; he was very pleased that the boy didn't seem to be rushing ahead, but he also began to doubt that the five dragons they now had with them would be the only ones to return to Berk, and so the whole tribe should really learn a little bit about how to interact with a dragon before they all left for home.

"Sounds like a good idea; do your best."

"Thanks Chief" Fishlegs shouted over his shoulder as he ran off.

Gobber approached having finished his first appraisal of the ship.

"Good news Stoick, it's the Sharktooth; one of our best. There's a hole the size of a Gronckle in the starboard bow and some damage to the port gunnel where it looks like the mast hit it, oh and the stem post is gone."

"How long?" Stoick asked.

"I'll have the hole done this afternoon thanks to all the gear we've already stripped from the other wrecks and Thorfinn has already gone to get what he'll need to do the gunnel. We'll be ready to raise a new mast by mid afternoon... if we get a good tree that is."

Gobber didn't even flinch when a pine tree landed behind him with a loud crash.

"How's this one Gobber?" Tuffnut yelled from high on the Zippleback's left neck.

"Looks fine lad" Gobber remarked after a brief inspection.

"Is it long enough to get a yardarm out of it Gobber" Stoick asked.

"No need to; we dragged a few good ones up with the wrecks yesterday. Oh well, off to work then" and he left to take measurements of the hole while whistling a happy tune.

* * *

"Oh my" gasped a surprised Fishlegs as over fifty Vikings looked at him expectantly "I didn't expect to see so many."

"Don't worry Fishlegs I've got an idea" Astrid reassured him as she turned to the crowd.

"I'm sorry everyone but when we approach the wild dragons, we'll have to do it in a smaller groups in case we spook them. So Fishlegs and I can only take two people each."

There was a general groaning from amongst the Vikings till Starkard spoke everyone's mind.

"That's four at a time Astrid; it will take forever" he moaned and everyone agreed.

"Yes I know but if we succeed, then we will have four more people with a little dragon experience who will be able to help another eight. So it shouldn't take too long, but at first we have to take it slow; we don't even know if the wild dragons will even let us approach them yet."

As a general rule Vikings are not very good at mathematics, so most of what Astrid explained had gone in one ear and out the other; one Viking was so numerically illiterate, that the information went up his nose and came out from a place that should not be spoken of in polite society.

The impatient Berkians weren't happy about waiting and they all wanted to be the ones chosen to go first, but eventually Astrid picked out four of the best leaders hoping that they could soon take over as Viking Dragon Trainers and then she could get back to Olvor and Hiccup. Partners were quickly chosen and soon Astrid and Stormfly were walking off toward a flock of Nadders with Odd and Agnar while Fishlegs and his dragon went toward the headland with Freya and Ack; he had seen a few Gronckles when he had flown by that morning and so it seemed like a good place to start.

Toothless felt a little stronger after lunch and so he decided to follow Astrid and the group of hopeful dragon trainers strolling up the beach. Astrid felt almost as strong a bond with Toothless as she did with Stormfly; mostly because he was the first dragon she had ever ridden and after a very shaky start, Toothless had come to feel very close to her as well. For Astrid there was also the fact that he was Hiccups dragon, so taking care of Toothless while Hiccup lay unconscious was her way of saying 'Don't worry about anything, just relax and let me take care of the rest'.

Stormfly walked along by Astrid's side carrying a bag of fish and feeling very contented to be helping her little blonde friend, but the Night Fury's head hung low as he wandered alongside them. Astrid began to fear what would become of Toothless if Hiccup didn't wake up and although she did not like to think about such things, she was determined that no matter what, Toothless would not be left alone should the unthinkable happen.

A group of three wild Nadders had been watching the Vikings scurrying around the beach all day with fascination, especially when they were working with the dragons, but they all became very cautious and tense when some of these Vikings started to approach them. This was the first time any of these people had come so close and although the two dragons in their company seemed very contented, the wild dragons all stood up and began to back off a little as the strangers grew closer. But they all settled down again when Astrid's group stopped and sat down nearby.

"Okay" Astrid's heart raced "you both know the plan so let's give it a try."

The wild Nadders were paying close attention as Astrid rose with her back to them and took the bag from Stormfly. She gave it to Agnar then turned back to her dragon and began to rub her cheek and neck."

"Good girl, thank you for carrying that heavy bag for me" she cooed to the dragon who relished in the attention and gave Astrid her 'I'm-a-happy-Nadder' growly purr.

"Right, here we go."

Odd and Agnar sat with Toothless while Astrid led Stormfly nearer to the other three Nadders stopping only when they all took another step back; she rubbed her dragon's neck again and sat her down in the sand.

"Odd" she said in a soft voice "change of plan; come here slowly and hold Stormfly for me."

As Odd took hold of the rope he began to scratch the back of the dragons head.

"That's it, you stay with me girl" he reassured the dragon.

"I want to see what happens if I show them some trust" Astrid took another few steps towards the middle of the group.

As she moved forward, speaking reassuringly to the group, they all began to pace back in different directions allowing her to step in to the middle of them.

"Hello" she smiled at them, but they still kept their distance. Suddenly one gave a nervous growl.

That was all Stormfly and Toothless needed to hear; they both reacted instantly to the threatening sound and sprang to their feet roaring at the wild Nadders. All three returned the roars to Astrid's protectors and took a few more back steps while Astrid rushed back to Stormfly and calmed her down.

"It's alright girl; come on then, sit down."

She began to wonder if it had been such a good idea to bring her own dragons after all; Astrid had thought it would help to show the wild dragons that they could trust her, but she had not taken into account how protective Stormfly and Toothless would be if she were in any danger.

"I'd better stay here with Stormfly" she stated the obvious to Odd "maybe you should be the one to give them the fish."

Agnar opened the bag and Odd took out three good sized cod; taking a few step forward he addressed the group.

"Hello there Nadders; err... um... these are for you" and he tossed a fish to each one in turn.

The three dragons looked to each other and then back to Odd before they slowly moved forward and sniffed the fish in front of them. They were constantly stoping and looking around to making sure that this was not some kind of trap. The dragon on the right opened its mouth a few inches and hooked the tip of its beak on the fish dragging it back until it eventually picked it up and stepped back suspiciously. After it had finally swallowed its dinner, the other two Nadders took the fish in front of them and consumed them with delight.

Odd stood smiling at the dragons for a while until the first one made a soft, inquisitive sound to him.

"Crawck"

"Oh, would you like another one then?"

The dragon took a few steps forward as Odd went back and got three more fish from the bag and returned to the same spot. He threw two fish to the other dragons and then held the third up to the dragon closest to him. It turned its head from side to get a good look at the offering before it stretched out its neck and took the fish delicately from Odd's hands before stepping back once more and swallowing it.

"Arrawk carrarr"

"Yes" Odd nodded and grinned widely "good isn't it?"

The Nadder turned to the sea and took off, flying high over the sea stacks and towards the horizon.

"Oh!" Odd was surprised "I thought we were getting somewhere for a while."

"Never mind" Astrid consoled him "the other two are still here and they still look hungry."

"I think I'll have a go" Agnar decided as he opened the basket.

"Okay then" Astrid agreed "let's see if one of these two will..."

A sudden cry filled the air as the third Nadder returned; it flew in low and dropped a fifteen foot freshly killed shark at Odds feet and then landed nearby.

"Err... thank you" he acknowledged by putting his hand on the sharks back "I think."

"See if it will let you get closer" Astrid whispered.

Odd stepped over the shark and held his hand out as if to shake its claw but it just looked at him with more suspicion so Astrid stepped back to Stormfly and scratched her neck again. The wild Nadder seemed to get the idea; it took a step towards Odd who did the same as he touched the dragon's cheek.

"That's a good little shark killer; Odd's your friend now."

* * *

**Greatest jokes on Berk: After a hard day's work Stoick and Gobber walked into a bar; you'd have thought that one of them would have noticed it.**


	18. Chapter 18

18 Olvors Battle

The tribe were impressed at how Astrid, Odd and Agnar had managed to returned with three new Deadly Nadders, but Fishlegs team had blown everyone away when they brought back seven Gronckles; although two were little more than babies and one was the size of a large sheep. A large crowd of Vikings gathered around to see all the new dragons which made the Nadders a little nervous so Odd, Freya and Ack took care of the ten newcomers while an unofficial dragon training lecture was called around the large cooking fire.

"Sorry everybody" Astrid began "but these new dragons are not really used to being surrounded by people yet. Well... we did learn a bit about taming wild dragons and it's not easy but anyone willing to be patient and careful could try their hand at it."

A loud cheer went up and Astrid began to wonder if they had fully understood what she had said, so Agnar stood to speak hoping that an adult voice would make the eager Vikings a little more willing to heed their warnings.

"Did any of you fools hear the part about being patient? Chief Stoick was right when he said you can't throw a fish to a wild dragon and then just jump on its back; we made one tiny error and almost ended up with a raging dragon fight" he exaggerated for effect "You have to go slow and be ready to stop if the dragon decides he doesn't want to be friends; after all, you have an island full of dragons here to chose from and they are not all the same. So if one gets cranky, BACK OFF and try another one."

"That's right" Fishlegs continued "my Gronckle was very helpful in getting close to a group of similar dragons, but Stormfly and Toothless got very protective so we repeat; you have to go slow and I mean very slow and let the dragon get use to you."

They spoke for another ten minutes about approaching and talking to dragons, when to offer a fish and where they liked to be scratched, but then Gobber arrived and commandeered seventeen Vikings to help fix the ship and to raise the mast. The disappointed group slunk off to do their work while the rest helped themselves to a few fish each and went off in search of dragons.

"Do you think they'll do okay?" Fishlegs wondered out loud.

"I sure hope so" Agnar tried to reassure him "as long as they don't rush things, they'll do fine."

"I dunno" Astrid was worried and shook her head "most Vikings I know are not known for their patience and tact."

"Well neither are dragons" Agnar smiled.

"Yeah I know... and that's what worries me."

* * *

Snotlout and his Nightmare had just re-heated the rock pile at the cooking fire and were about to head back to the beach to help with the mast when Olvor stopped him for a brief chat.

"That's quite the dragon you've got there lad."

"Yes Ma'am" he patted the Nightmare on the flank proudly "he's the best of the lot; strong, fast and can turn a tree into a pile of ash with one breath."

"Impressive indeed but I wanted to ask you this; I remember when you all arrived here yesterday, Stormfly was carrying both Hiccup and Astrid, so could this beast of yours carry you and I all the way back to Berk today?"

"Sure he could, but I think Chief Stoick needs us here to help with the ship and stuff."

"Yes he does, but I think I'll go and have a little talk with him about that; thank you Snotlout."

"Err... no problem" he looked confused as she walked away, but that was normal for Snotlout.

* * *

As Olvor walked off towards ship, she noticed Astrid and Fishlegs riding on their dragons on the ground and in the air; they were attempting to show the new dragons that carrying a Viking was nothing to be afraid of. She soon found Stoick overseeing the repairs and called to him.

"Time to take a break from all that Chief and have a chat with your favourite bone cutter."

Stoick stood up. "You flatter yourself, my favourite bone cutter is the one that took off Gobbers leg and slowed him down enough that I could get away whenever he starts singing" he laughed.

"Oh thank you very much" Gobber dripped with sarcasm "if you're gonna be like that, you can fix your own ship."

Stoick strolled away with Olvor out of earshot from the others.

"Good to hear you making jokes again" she noted.

"Ahh... I'm still very worried, but I can't let them see that."

"But we're doing so well" Olvor was surprised.

"True... but for how long? We came here on over twenty Longships and now we only have one so even with a full load of Vikings, a five day round trip to Berk means that it'll take nearly two months to get everyone back and that is if... IF... everything goes smoothly; so we're not out of the woods yet."

"I glad to see that you are fully aware of the situation" Olvor smiled "it should make it easier for me to convince you to give your permission for my crazy little plan."

"What plan is this then? I've really had my fill of crazy plans for one lifetime."

"I'm worried about Hiccup" she stated bluntly.

"Hmm... as am I...Wait, what's happened?"

"Calm down, nothing's changed, but I don't want to leave him in that cave any longer than I have too; in fact... I want to take him back to Berk... now."

"Don't worry; he'll be on the first trip back to Berk, but I don't think we'll have the ship ready to sail till the morning."

"No good Stoick, I don't want to put him on a ship for two or three days; I want to take him back now, and I want to take him back by dragon."

She stared at him sternly and waited for him to explode; she didn't have to wait long.

"WHAT! ARE YOU MAD? I'M NOT SENDING HIM BACK ON A DRAGON IN HIS CONDITION, HE'LL DIE!"

"Right" Olvor kept calm "now that you've had your little rant..."

"I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU KILL HIM WITH YOUR CRAZY PLAN" Stoick shouted turning red.

Olvor knew that he would not be easy to convince, so she changed her tactic by drawing her sword and offering it to Stoick.

"RIGHT THEN YOU STUBBORN OLD GOAT; YOU KILL HIM THEN... IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!"

Stoick stared at her engulfed with rage for what felt like an eternity, until finally he was ready to listen.

"Alright... tell me why then."

Olvor wanted so badly to just hit him on the head, so she took a deep breath and imagined doing it in her mind; it made her feel much better.

"The fact that he has not woken up yet, means that he still has a lot of healing to do. And the best place for that is in a warm house and under Gothi's care; not lying in a cave, or getting covered with sea spray on a heaving deck. It's still daylight and the weather is good; he flew here with Astrid on Stormfly, so I know the dragon can carry them both back as well. I want to get him wrapped up, onto that dragon, and back to Berk before nightfall; Snotlout will take me too so I can keep an eye on him. Once we've got him settled in with Gothi, then I'll come back here with the Dragon Riders and help you to keep your head on straight."

"Oh that's my job" Gobber stated while eavesdropping "best you stay with the boy I think and I'll take care of Chief grumpy pants here."

"Please stop calling me that" Stoick fumed.

"You wish."

"Take the twins too" Stoick ordered "I want you to have a back up dragon in case anything goes wrong."

Without waiting for any reply Stoick strode off to see Astrid while Olvor and Gobber went back to the ship to tell Snotlout and the twins.

"Well that went smoothly" Gobber noted.

"Smoothly? I thought he was gonna take my sword and cut my head off!"

"I remember a time when he probably would have" Gobber smiled "he must have mellowed with age."

"Stoick and mellow; now there are two words you don't often hear in the same sentence."

* * *

**Greatest jokes on Berk: How many dragons does it take to change a light bulb?**

**What's a light bulb?**


	19. Chapter 19

**Long after I had finished this story, I realised that what was missing, was Sigrid finding Buttercup. All fixed now :-)**

* * *

19 Going Home

As Toothless watched closely, Stoick and Olvor carried Hiccup out of the cave and over toward Stormfly. Astrid hugged the worried Night Fury and comforted him as best she could when the boy wrapped in yak skin went by.

"Don't worry Toothless; I'll take good care of him."

She lifted his huge head in her hands and looked straight into his big green eyes.

"You know that I will... and you'll see him in a few days anyway" she wished she was really was confident as she pretended to be.

"Come on Astrid" Olvor called "you first."

Stormfly sniffed at the bundle being taken passed her and was pleased to recognise the unmistakable aroma of the fish boy; and he was still alive. After Astrid had climbed up and taken her seat, Hiccup was lifted into position in front of her and two ropes were wrapped around his chest and leg to hold him in place. Toothless cried out as they flew away and Astrid had to struggle a little to keep Stormfly from flying back to the forlorn Night Fury, but it still saddened her that they had to leave him behind.

Olvor knew that she could not take her time in getting accustomed to flying on the back of a dragon, as she had to keep one eye on Hiccup and the other on Tuffnut and Ruffnut; not to mention doing her best to keep Snotlout in line. Doing all this at the same time would not be simple.

"Come on you guys" Tuffnut shouted "last one back to Berk has to wash Gobbers underwear for a month."

"YEAH!" shouted Ruffnut as they raced away.

"Oh no; not so soon" Olvor sighed "Get me close to Astrid please."

"You got it. COME ON DRAGON; UP" Snotlout cried and they rose much faster than Olvor would have liked for a first flight.

"Just keep flying smooth and steady Astrid" Olvor called as they drew near "let us worry about the twins."

"Okay; and good luck with that" Astrid replied and kept climbing slowly.

"We can catch them if you want" Snotlout hinted. Although he knew his job was to keep Olvor close to Astrid and Hiccup, he was itching to show off his skill, and his dragons speed.

"You've got two minutes to try, and then we have to get back here."

"Right" and he patted the Nightmare's neck "GO DRAGON."

As they picked up speed and altitude, Olvor began wish that she had never eaten that last piece of fish at lunchtime, but the Nightmare was indeed a fast dragon and they were soon flying just behind the twins on their Zippleback and about twenty feet higher.

"Just bring me in close enough for them to hear me Snotlout"

"Not... a... problem" he said with confidence as he guided the dragon in toward the twins. As the distance between the two began to close Olvor was not shy in showing her annoyance.

"CAN YOU TWO FOOLS REMEMBER WHY WE ARE UP HERE?"

"Yeah we're racing to Berk" Ruff was clearly too excited to think.

"NO WE ARE NOT! SO STOP THAT DRAGON; NOW!"

Ruff and Tuff sat up and looked at each other with puzzlement on their faces before they looked to see precisely who it was that sounded so angry with them; the looks on their faces changed glacially slow as they stared at Olvor and began to remember the one legged boy on the dragon behind them.

"Oh... yeah...err sorry" Tuffnuts apology actually sounded genuine as he and his sister turned their dragon back toward Astrid far behind.

* * *

Stoick and Gobber stood staring at the sky after the twins had raced away and collectively shook their heads.

"I know it was me who said they should go along to help, but I'll still tear their heads off if they cause any trouble for Astrid and Hiccup."

"Don't worry Stoick, remember it was those two who got Snotlout off the giant beasties head yesterday, so they must know what they're doin' even if they are a pair of mutton heads."

"You fill me with such confidence sometimes; this just isn't one of them."

"Come on now Chief, you know you made the right decision; even if the ship was ready to go now, a quick flight home is much better than a long sea voyage, and we both know the lengths that Astrid will go to for Hiccup. She loves him and she proved to us last night that she is prepared to die for him."

"But she shouldn't have to Gobber, that's for me to do; after all I am his father."

"And maybe someday he will need you too; but today it is Astrid, her love and her skill as a dragon rider that he needs, and she will get him home."

Stoick was not only the Chief of Berk, but also the mightiest Viking for several generations and he was not accustomed to depending on others so absolutely; it was something he would have to get used to in the future.

* * *

Astrid sighed as she watched Snotlout and Olvor race off after Ruffnut and Tuffnut, but at least Hiccup was still safe and would be back home on Berk long before nightfall. As Stormfly slowly gained altitude, Astrid noticed that the air temperature was dropping rapidly, so she removed her right glove and placed her hand under the hood to check on Hiccup and sure enough, his face felt far too cold for Astrids liking. She attempted to warm him up by holding him close with her right hand while she held onto the rope tightly with her left; she also directed Stormfly to glide back down. Soon they were flying straight and level about twenty feet above the surface of the sea, where the air was not nearly as cold.

Astrid began to wonder how Snotlout and Olvor were progressing with their task to retrieve the twins, but she was glad that she and Hiccup could enjoy some time alone together, it was such a pity though that they could not chat. Astrid had noticed that back on Berk, all the engaged and married women she knew had given their men cute little names that only they would use; names like Sugar Plumb and Lovey Pie. She began to wonder if she too should come up with a similar pet name for Hiccup now that Stoick, Olvor and particularly Gobber, knew about her feelings for him; even if they were not yet officially a couple.

As she considered this, the trio flew on to Berk totally oblivious to the dark shape lurking behind them just below the surface of the water. Looking up at the sky, Astrid figured the sun would touch the horizon in less than two hours, and by then they would be about three quarters of the way to back Berk so, barring any delays they would arrive about fifteen minutes before dark and she could live with that.

"How are you feeling Sweetie, nice and warm?" 'Oh no, that sounds horrible' Astrid thought.

She was glad that no one could hear her trying out these pet names, not even Hiccup. As a warrior, even such a young one, it all felt very uncomfortable and alien too her.

"Sorry Hiccup, but I could not live with myself if I had to call you Sweetie; how about Hunnybun? Urrgh, no that one's even worse" maybe pet names where simply not her style.

Two small dots appeared in the distance ahead of her and as they grew larger, Astrid knew that she and Hiccup would no longer be alone for the rest of the long journey.

"Is it my imagination Babe, or is Snotlout coming in way too fast?"

There was no doubt about it; Snotlout was defiantly coming in much faster that he should have been; and on top of that, he was diving straight at Stormfly.

"What does that idiot think he's doing?" she asked herself.

Her peaceful flight with Hiccup was now totally ruined by the shock of seeing a crazed Monstrous Nightmare closing in on her and about to let go with its fire burst attack.

"What the..."

Astrid leaned over to protect Hiccup as the huge streak of yellow flame passed inches over her head followed closely by the Nightmare that sent it. The two dragons passed by so closely, that a sudden gust of wind hit Stormfly making her falter a little. Astrid turned her head back to see what dangerous and moronic thing Snotlout was going to do next, and saw the flame of the fire burst slam hard into the head of a wild Scauldron only a few feet from the tip of Stormflys tail. Roaring in pain, the massive green dragon plunged back into the sea and disappeared. Snotlout and Olvor turned back in a large sweeping arc and pulled up alongside of Stormfly.

"You're welcome gorgeous" Snotlout was very pleased with himself as he stuck out his chest in a heroic pose.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Astrid knew she should be grateful that the Scauldron had been fought off before it could take down Stormfly and her two passengers, but the close pass and the fire burst had her more than just a little rattled.

"You could have blown my head off you moron."

"Come on my darling, you know I would never hurt you; you're my lady" his smile turned her stomach.

"She's right you show-off" Olvor hit him on the side of his helmet with a loud clang. "be more careful next time."

"And I am NOT you lady" Astrid was adamant.

"But you will be" and that stomach churning smile returned once more.

"Astrid; why are you flying so low?" Olvor called out.

"It was colder up there and I'm trying to keep Hiccup as warm as I can."

Olvor agreed with her about the importance of not letting Hiccup's temperature drop, but the Scauldron had spooked her so she decided on a compromise.

"Okay but let's go up a little bit higher please"

So as the twins and their Zippleback fell back into formation, the three dragons rose up another twenty feet and continued eastward towards the Isle of Berk.

* * *

Five ropes were spread out from the top of the new mast and held by five mighty Vikings to guide it and keep it steady as Fishlegs and his Gronckle lifted this second to last piece of ship into place, while four more Vikings held the base of the pole firmly to keep it from slipping off the cut stump of the old mast. As it rose upright, Fishlegs released the lifting rope giving full control of its position to Stoick and the other holders of the five guy ropes. Gobber positioned two semi circular metal plates around the base of the mast and wrapped another two ropes around the top and bottom of the tube to temporarily hold them firm while he fitted the rivets down the edges and drove home the metal rods through the centre. Stoick looked very satisfied as he admired the newly repaired Longship; it now only required a yardarm, a sail and to be loaded with supplies to make her fully seaworthy again. He and Gobber were giving one final check to the former hole in the starboard side when the unmistakable sound of dragon wings drew near.

"Oh no" Stoick's blood turned cold as a Monstrous Nightmare flew up the beach toward them.

"It's Snotlout; something must have gone wrong on their journey home" he jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Now don't go getting your knickers in a twist till you're sure" Gobber advised as he climbed down from the deck "he may have come back with... wait a cotton pickin' minute... that's not Snotlout... THAT'S SIGRID!"

"YYEEEEEEHAAAAAA" yelled Sigrid the Strong with great delight as she and her dragon flew past the two stunned Vikings with a loud Whoosh.

"Look at the size of that dragon" Gobber declared "it's huge!"

There could be no doubt that this dragon was much bigger than Snotlouts; even though Sigrid was only a slightly bigger Viking, she still looked very small riding on this mighty beast. Dragon and rider flew up the left side of the smouldering volcano and down the right and back toward Stoick causing the ship to wobble slightly as they zoomed by; after one more turn around the sea stacks, Sigrid brought the Nightmare into land halfway up the beach where she jumped off onto the pebbles and pulled a fish out of her bag.

"Whoa that was fun" she gasped and held up the reward "I think you deserve this."

The mighty head dropped down to take the offered food; he tossed it high up before snapping it out of the air and swallowing it in one gulp. Sitting back down, the dragon brought its head down level with Sigrid who grabbed its neck in a big bear hug.

"Who's a good dragon then?" she cooed as she rubbed its chin "you are, you're a very good dragon."

"What the..." Stoick was at a loss for words "How did you... Where?"

Sigrid laughed "Impressive isn't he? Gentlemen; meet Buttercup. I found him inside the volcano."

"Inside?" Gobber and Stoick repeated simultaneously ignoring the dragon's name.

"What possessed you to go in there ya daft crazy nutter?" Gobber was his usual pleasant and understanding self.

"HA... I wanted to see if there was anything different inside there and... well" she gestured to her new best friend.

"Okay, so now we know where... but how?" Stoick asked again.

"Well... Astrid, Fishlegs and Agnar kept tellin' us over and over to go slow and be patient so that's what I did; I went inside that big hole we knocked into the side of the volcano with a torch and bag of fish to have a look around. Some other dragons scurried away in the dark, but eventually this guy comes roaring straight at me; I really thought I was dead because I knew that I could never outrun him so I just... well... sat down."

"You sat down?" Stoick gasped.

"I think that must have confused him for he just stopped, sniffed me a bit and then roared again so I opened up me bag and tried the fish trick... but it didn't work. I tossed one to him and he burnt it to a crisp; and so with nothing else to do... I just sat there for about half an hour talking to him."

"I'm amazed you've still got ya head on" Gobber noted.

"Well it did the trick because after a while, some of the other dragons started sniffing around; I think it was the fish. The next thing I know, Buttercup is roaring and nipping at them; driving them off and then he comes back and sits down opposite me so I just kept on talking to him."

"What on earth did you say to him?" Stoick asked stunned.

"Oh anything and everything; who I was, where I was from, I told him about Hiccup and how I wanted to take him back to Berk. He just sat there all that time with absolutely no expression that I could see until eventually me torch started to go out. And so I decided it was time to leave, but only after one last try to approach him. I stood up and he started to growl again but when I took a few steps closer, he let out another one of his mighty roars so I figured it was time to cut my losses and go but then as I backed off, he roared again; it was almost as if he was angry that I was leaving."

"So what did you do then?" asked Freya.

Stoick jumped at the new voice behind him and was surprised to find that all work had stopped on the ship as everyone had gathered round to listen to the tale.

"And just what do you all think that you are doing" Stoick demanded "GET BACK TO WORK!"

"Oh calm down" Gobber pushed his luck again "we can't go back to work till we find out if she made it out of the cave alive."

"Errrrr?" Sigrid had no idea how to answer that.

"Gobber; she's standing right here" Stoick explained nicely "OF COURSE SHE MADE IT OUT ALIVE."

Buttercup gave a mighty roar and everyone backed up a little; he didn't like it when someone else was louder than he was.

"It's okay Buttercup" Sigrid comforted her dragon "the nasty man wasn't shouting at you."

"Watch what you saying" Stoick remarked sternly "I'm still chief you know; now make this long story shorter or we won't get the Sharktooth relaunched before Snoggletog."

"Right... sorry Chief; well if he still didn't want me to come closer, but wouldn't let me leave, I was stuck so I just stood there for a while and kept talking to him until the torch finally flickered out."

The crowd gave a collective "Oooooo" as they hung on every word.

"I couldn't see the hand in front of my face but there was a tiny point of light coming from the entrance so I told Buttercup that I had to go and started to leave, but I didn't get very far."

"Did the dragon stop you again? Hoark asked urgently.

"No... I fell over" everyone laughed "HEY... it was dark in there and I couldn't see a thing."

"Sorry Sigrid" Ack smirked "please... go on."

"That was when something amazing happened; on my way in I had to climb over a lot of rocks, big ones, and what I'd done was fallen down between two of them" she held up her hands and turned her head "As you can see here, I grazed myself pretty bad and hurt my left knee; got a bit of a knock on the head as well. I started to think about how it was gonna be a long trip back when suddenly the cave lit up; Buttercup had set himself alight and I could see again. I tried to pick me self up again, but I was still feeling a little bit dizzy from the fall when all of a sudden, Buttercup picks me up in his mouth and puts me on his back; he was on fire all over... except where he put me."

"Oooooo" the Vikings repeated.

"I didn't feel too bad, but he knew I was hurt and I think that he felt a little guilty. When we reached the mouth of the cave, he could see all the other dragons were happily working or playing with you all; he even saw three dragons with riders fly off over the ocean and he decided to follow them."

"You followed Astrid and Hiccup" Stoicks interest peaked "how were they?"

"It looks like Hiccup is in good hands Stoick; Astrid's dragon was being chased by a Scauldron, but before I could do anything about it, Snotlout saw it off with a shot to the head and they all flew on safe and sound. We watched them for a while to make sure they were okay, but I thought that you'd probably want me here so I had a go at turning Buttercup around just by leaning to one side like I'd seen the others do and sure enough, he banks around and starts back for the island. I tried a few more manoeuvres on the way; it's surprising just how smart and intuitive these dragons really are. They're... well... amazing, and when all this is over and everyone is back home and safe again, we are going to fly off and see the world together."

"If only we'd known before" Agnar sighed.

"If only I'd listened to Hiccup" Stoick shook his head.

"Don't beat yourself up Chief; I didn't believe him either until I saw it with me own eyes" Gobber confessed as everyone mumbled in agreement.

"Well when he wakes up, he's getting a big sloppy kiss from me" Sigrid grinned.

"If you try that, you'll probably get Astrids axe flying at your head" Gobber noted as everyone laughed.

* * *

**WARNING: HTTYD 2 SPOILER ALERT. I originally wrote the bit where Stoick says to Gobber that it is his job to die for Hiccup and not Astrids, months before the second movie came out so it was a bit freaky when it happened. As I said in chapter 16, I am not psychic! Most of what I write never happens in life or fiction, but I do predict that you are going to love all my future stories and write glowing reviews (it's moments like these that I wish I had a Theremin playing in the background).**


	20. Chapter 20

20 Coming Home

The sun dipped gently below the horizon as the trio of dragons approached the Isle of Berk. Astrid began to feel herself relax at last in the glorious glow of the early evening light. Although most of their journey had been without incident, the memory of the Scauldron and her concern for Hiccups safety had kept her nerves on edge for the entire trip, but he would soon be back inside his own home and out of danger. 'Maybe then he will wake up' she hoped, but had a distinct feeling that the reasons behind his long sleep ran much deeper than simply being far from home. It was the only hope she had to hold on to though, and so she would.

"Okay everyone listen up" Olvors words snapped Astrid back to the present."

"We don't know how the other villagers will react when we approach on dragons, so Snotlout and I will go in first and make sure it's safe for Astrid to bring Stormfly in to land. So you all hang back and keep an eye out just in case because you never know; there may be somebody manning the catapults."

"Gothi knows about the dragons" Astrid called back.

"Yes so everything should be okay, but I'd feel better if we could be sure; we'll send up a flame shot if all is well, and you can come in when you see it."

Olvor gave Snotlout the signal to go and they quickly gained speed as they flew up toward the island, while the other two dragons simply stretched their wings and glided slowly along behind.

"How is Hiccup doing?" Ruffnut called out to Astrid.

"Oh... fine I guess" she replied "but he's very cold so I'll be glad to finally get him home."

"You like him... don't you?" Ruff insinuated with an accusing smile.

'Well' thought Astrid 'here's my chance to finally stop denying everything to everyone.'

"Yes I do" she shouted back feeling somewhat free and liberated by the admission.

"I knew it" Ruffnut punched the air and turned to her brother "a girl can tell."

"So how did you know then?" Tuff remarked sarcastically; Ruffnut hit him of course.

Astrid smiled at the twins; she was almost home and even their fighting seemed right and normal.

"THERE!" she called out as a burst of flame went up from the village "there's the signal, let's go Stormfly."

The blue Nadder beat her wings a little harder, and it was not long before they had crossed the coast and were approaching Chief Stoick's home when with almost no warning, a boleadora struck Stormfly hard from beneath and wrapped itself around her legs; this caused the dragon to turn half over, knocking Astrid and Hiccup so badly that they almost fell off.

"RUFF, TUFF; HELP ME!" she cried out as Stormfly did her best to fly straight and lift them all away from danger.

"We're here Astrid" Ruffnut called back.

"What happened Ruff?"

"Your dragon got hit by one of those three-rocks-on-a-rope thingies; try to fly straight and I'll get it off her legs for you."

Stormfly struggled under the weight of the rocks and her passengers as the Zippleback moved underneath to help the stricken dragon."

"Hold 'em steady" Ruffnut called to her brother as she tried to untie the ropes.

"You got it sis, steady as she goes."

The rope was knotted so tightly, she soon gave up and pulled out her hunting knife cutting off the first rock and letting it fall safely away. The second rope was half cut when Stormflys leg twitched and caught Ruffnut on the side of the head, causing her to drop her knife.

"Damn! I loved that knife" she cursed "TUFF! KNIFE! NOW!"

"Here ya go sis" came the reply as he passed over a very familiar looking blade.

"Hey... this is my hunting knife; so what did I just drop?"

"One of Dad's old ones. I swapped them over cause yours is so cool" Tuffnut declared proudly.

"You miserable son of a Bridge Troll; when we get down from here I'm gonna kick your butt from here to next Snoggletog."

"RUFFNUT HURRY!" came Astrid's desperate cry.

"Oh yeah" Ruffnut realised and returned her task.

The favoured blade made quick work of the last two ropes and she soon had Stormflys legs fully untangled again.

"Thanks you guys" Astrid acknowledged "come on, let's get back to the village... and watch out for more attacks."

"We were safer on Dragon Island" Tuffnut realised as Stormfly and the Zippleback made a sweeping half turn.

"Yeah" Ruffnut agreed "weird huh."

"Totally."

As the dragons returned to the village Astrid could see Olvor at the bottom of the steps that lead to Stoicks house, shacking her fists at a small group of very angry villagers, while Snotlout tried to untangle his dragon from a net nearby.

"I'm going up to the door; make me a fire barrier halfway up the steps."

"You got it" Tuffnut replied "if there's one thing we love, it's making fire."

"Yeah" agreed Ruffnut as they bashed their helmets together.

The twins guided their Hideous Zippleback into a long, fast pass across the face of the hill leading up to the home of the village Chief; as they flew in close, the right head began to release its noxious flammable gas in a forty foot stream along the ground. The gas was set alight by a spark from the left head, causing a huge fiery explosion that totally blocked all access to the stairs. Soon after, Astrid brought Stormfly in as close as she could to the front of the front door of the building and leapt off.

"Down Stormfly" she ordered the dragon and as it sat, she pulled Hiccup off the dragons back as gently as she could manage and lowered him to the ground near the door. Standing up again Astrid held her hands under Stormflys face and looked onto her eyes hoping she would understand."

"Stormfly; guard Hiccup" and she turned the dragons head toward the yak skin covered boy.

"Do you understand?"

Stormfly did not know what the girl was saying but she seemed to be very concerned with fish boy; so the dragon stood and moved over to him before sitting back down with Hiccup between the dragon and the door.

"Good girl Stormfly; Stay"

Astrid drew her knife and pulled the hood of her coat over her head before she ran down the steps toward the still raging line of fire; without hesitation she leapt straight through the flames and landed roughly on the other side. She rolled over once and clambered back onto her feet, quickly taking in the scene around her.

Snotlout was still trying to keep several elderly warriors away from his dragon, while Gothi helped Olvor by hitting some of them on the head with her staff; three more had been trying to get up the steps but were being held back by the flames. They were all now in a slight state of shock as a berserk little blonde came flying through the fire roaring like a wounded bear.

"ANYONE WHO DOESN'T BACK OFF NOW, GETS THIS KNIFE IN HIS GUTS!" she screamed so ferociously that two of them had a little accident in their undies "UNDERSTAND?"

They slowly began to back off as Astrid moved forward with both hands on the knife handle matching every one of their steps, and glaring at them with a look that would haunt their dreams for many years to come.

"B-b-but the dragons..." Mulch stammered.

"Do they look like they're attacking, you morons?" Olvor moaned in frustration.

"Well the Zippleback does." He replied with confidence.

"I HAD TO TELL THEM TO DO THAT BEFORE YOU TROLLS FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN KILLING HICCUP." Astrid was finding it very hard to calm down.

"Where is hiccup? We haven't seen him for days."

Astrid was panting so hard she was starting to hyperventilate; that helped her to calm down a little.

"He's at the top of the stairs being guarded by Stormfly" she tried to explain, but Mulch was still very confused.

"Who's Stormfly?" he wondered out loud.

"MY DRAGON YOU IDIOTS!" Astrid lost it once more; she was getting quite good at it.

With all the commotion going on, the attacking had finally ceased, although the Vikings were still not sure of a few facts; why were Snotlout and Olvor helping a dragon, why was the dragon was letting them help it, and when did Astrid become a Berserker?

Now that Gothi had finished hitting Vikings, she walked passed Mulch's group and approached Astrid who still possessed a crazed look in her eyes, and still exhaled every breath with a snort like an angry bull.

Fortunately Astrids rage was only directed at those whom she considered to be a direct threat to Stormfly, and by association, Hiccup. So Gothi was in absolutely no danger from the wild girl, unless she should decide to throw her staff at them; she did not. Gothi did, however put her hand on Astrids arm causing the young girls eyes to flick back and forth between Gothi, and the former attackers whom she still did not trust as far as she could throw a Gronckle; which was not very far at all.

The fire behind Astrid's eyes began to die as she realised that Gothi was pointing her staff at the Great Hall, and tilting her head in the direction of the Vikings, so all became clear.

"You should all go to the great hall" Astrid declared still panting.

"Now hold on there a moment missy" Mulch was taking his life into his own hands now "a young girl like yourself should not be tellin'..." Mulch would soon regret saying this.

"GET UP TO THE GREAT HALL – NOW!"

Mulch's regret was complete.

"I would go if I were you" Olvor added "just let us take care of the dragons, and we will meet you there within the hour and explain."

"Well it had better be a damn good explanation, is all I can say" Mulch moaned as they all walked away to the Great Hall feeling like they should not have been spoken to like naughty children, by one of their own naughty children.

Astrid dropped the knife and began to shake; burying her face in her hands, she sank to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably as Olvor came over to comfort her.

"It's alright Astrid" she said consolingly "it's not easy to come down from such rage, but you can do it; breath deep and relax."

"I ALMOST DROPPED HIM... WHEN THEY ATTACKED STORMFLY AND... and... and... he could have died... again. WHY WON'T HE WAKE UP?" and she started to cry once more.

Olvor hugged her as she sobbed; the doctor knew it was never easy to stay in total control and to do what needs to be done when you are so stressed and worried about something, or in this case someone and that was the main reason why Olvor was so concerned about Stoick. He was just as worried about his son, as he was for the welfare of the tribe and it was becoming impossible to do either one, without compromising the other; Olvor helped Astrid to her feet.

"Come on; let's go take care of Hiccup."

Snotlout finished untangling his dragon from the net and was following them up the steps when he noticed Astrid's fragile emotional state and decided to help - unfortunately.

"Hey Astrid... don't worry; I'm fine so no need to cry."

"rrrrrrrRRRRRAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!"

Astrid lunged at him with the murderous look back in her eyes, but luck was with Snotlout as Olvor was ready and held the young girl back; although it was not a very easy task.

"If you want keep living" Olvor advised "you should go and take your dragon down to the arena and settle him down for the night... and take the twins with you."

Snotlout backed off with his eyes wide in fear; he decided that his dragon needed his help far more than this wild and ungrateful person, so he trotted off back down the steps. Olvor threw the still snarling Astrid over her shoulder and made for the top, where they found Gothi giving Hiccup a quick once over. As they reached the door step where he lay in his yak skin wrapping, Astrid had given up on her rage once more and hung limply on Olvor's shoulder like a clump of wet seaweed, mumbling in muffled tones as her face rested on Olvors back.

"Let me kill Snotlout. Just this once... please let me kill him. It won't be painless, but it will be quick."

She felt something rough nuzzling her arms and realised it was Stormfly, who was very worried about her little friend. A wide smile crossed Astrid face as she realised that she was once more in the company of those on whom she could rely.

"Hey Stormfly, good to see you girl."

Olvor put Astrid back on her feet and bent down over Hiccup as Gothi listened to his heart. When she was done they lifted Hiccup and took him inside, placing him on a bench away from the door and close to the fireplace. Olvor looked around the dark, cold home and decided it was time for a change in the atmosphere, so she sent Astrid outside with some thick pieces from Stoicks wood pile for Stormfly to set alight. Knowing that a direct Nadder flame would destroy the wood completely, Astrid directed the dragon to throw her flame out away from the house while she held up the wood and set fire to the ends. But as she was about to walk back inside, a warning bell went off inside her head so she stopped and called out to Olvor.

"Wait; won't this make Hiccups leg catch on fire?" she took a few steps back from the door.

"I'm glad you remembered" Olvor chuckled "but there is no alcohol left on his leg any more, it would have evaporated long ago during the long flight back."

Still moving with care, Astrid entered the house and used the burning branches to light up the brazier, and the home was soon lit by a soft warm glow.

"I'm going to get some things from my house Gothi" Olvor walked to the open door "I'll be back soon."

Olvor found Stormfly standing at the entrance to the house, looking in nervously.

"It's alright... you can come in" Olvor invited the dragon.

**Greatest jokes on Berk: **

**What does a Gronckle have that a Nightmare doesn't?**

**Baby Gronckles. **


	21. Chapter 21

21 The Day of the Dragon

As the sun neared the horizon on Dragon Island, the pebbly beach was a hive of activity as a small group of Vikings loaded up the re-launched longship Sharktooth with supplies of dried fish and drinking water. Only a short distance away near the camp, about thirty more were indulging in the more interesting and enjoyable task of Dragon Training.

"Agnar was right when he said that dragons are not all the same" Sigrid commented to her chief as they walked down from the camp.

"My little beastie took a long time to get used to me, and some take hours just to build up enough confidence to take a fish from your hand. But so far the Gronckles seem to be the most easy going and quickest to gain trust in a Viking."

"But they're not really the smartest of the bunch" Gobber commented as he approached from the ship "I think that honour would go to the Nadders; they always look like they're watching and thinking and generally trying to understand everything, although I bet they get most of it wrong inside those big, round brain boxes of theirs.

"Gobber" Sigrid noted "you truly astound me sometimes."

"Oh; thank you very much Sigrid."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Well in that case; May your dragon burn your undies to ash every wash day."

"What was that all about?" Stoick was a little surprised.

"New dragon curses. Here's another, ahem; May the droppings of a thousand dragons..."

"Alright then Gobber, I don't think we need a new line of dragon curses today."

"Mr. Grumpy pants strikes again."

"GOBBER!" Stoick was turning red.

"Alright... sorry."

"Sigrid was trying to fill me in on how the dragon training was progressing, but it will have to wait now thanks to your constant interruptions."

"Well if you're going to be like that, I won't tell you the news that the Sharktooth is ready to set sail."

"Look at the sun Gobber she can't sail now, they'll never get passed the sea stacks before dark."

Stoick was worried about the way this conversation was progressing due to the secretive grin that Gobber was now giving them.

"Do you think so Chief? Well come and have a little look at this."

Twenty yards ahead of them, the Sharktooth sat bobbing in the water attached to the shore by only a gang plank and five ropes that ran from the stem of the ship to five smiling Gronckles standing on the beach.

"You see Stoick, what we have here is another fine example of Viking/Dragon utilisation and co-operation; when Fishlegs flew around the area on his Gronckle, Ack here noticed that the others would follow him in a kind of V pattern, so he thinks that since the Gronckle is such a slow yet powerful beastie, then why not harness them to the bow of a ship and get them to assist the sails."

"Does it work?" Stoick was amazed but doubtful.

"I can't see why it wouldn't" chimed in Olaf as he joined the group.

As Olaf was the first Viking to declare that he would never go up on a dragon again, it was decided by all of the other longship commanders that he should be the one to take over the Sharktooth from Freya as she, like the rest of them, was more interested in flying a dragon back to Berk rather than sailing there.

"We've got a high tide that is about to turn and the ship is ready to sail; so the plan is to set off under Gronckle power and see if they will follow young Fishlegs and his dragon as they lead us out past the sea stacks" Olaf concluded.

"And do you really think they will pull you all the way back to Berk? I seriously doubt that" the Chief was adamant.

"Well... no" Gobber added "but once they are out in the open ocean, then it's drop the sail time and just let the Gronckles assist. When they get tired, they can land on the deck for a nice little dragon nap until they're ready to go again; we even figure that the ship may reach Berk by tomorrow night with a favourable wind and good Gronckle conditions."

Stoicks eyes lit up "and then you could set sail from Berk the following morning to return here for the next load home."

"Well that's the other thing Stoick; the ship may not need to return because everyone who wants to go back to Berk by ship can go on the first journey. Most of the tribe want to fly back on a dragon; we may even have to force a few to go on the Sharktooth so she'll have a full crew, although it is highly debatable whether Olaf will even need a full crew with the all the Gronckles to help him."

"I'm not sure this will work" Stoick was concerned "surely not everyone can fly a dragon yet."

"Well no" Ack admitted "I'm even finding it slow going trying to get the hang of the finer points myself, but I'll get there in the end and so will everybody who wants to keep trying... and we do want to keep trying."

"It's amazing" the Chief admitted "I've had so much to do with the camp and the ship, keeping track of the supplies and everybody's safety, not to mention Hiccups leg, that I just kept on assuming that we would all return by ship with a few dragons flying alongside."

"It's no surprise you thought that Chief" Ack added "so did I... until a few hours ago."

"And even though I knew that I'd be flying back to Berk" Sigrid added " it never occurred to me that another sixty Vikings or more would want to join me; it's all happening so fast and right before our very eyes. It may take us weeks, or even months until we can fully come terms with it all."

"I haven't even had a go yet" Stoick realised.

"No time like the present then; come on Chief and I'll show you what Fishlegs and Snotlout showed me" Sigrid offered.

Thinking about riding a dragon was so exciting, that Stoick began at last to understand how the other Vikings were feeling. He suddenly realised that because he had been so busy for the last few days, he had not kept track of everything the tribe had been going through; no matter how much he believed that he had.

"Olaf, get the Sharktooth ready to shove off; Gobber you and Ack pass the word around that I want everybody in earshot of the ship when I get back" Stoick ordered "Sigrid, let's go."

Sigrid and Stoick were soon flying out over the sea stacks; Buttercup truly was the biggest Monstrous Nightmare that any Viking had ever seen and still lived to tell about it afterwards. They took a quick trip around Astrid's Island while Sigrid explained how the rider could guide the dragon in altitude and direction, by simply leaning their body. Stoick was relieved to find that it was so simple and intuitive; the rider and dragon only had to work together and not fight each other as he had once assumed.

"I can really see why Hiccup likes dragon riding" Stoick declared when Buttercup landed back on the beach.

The thought of his son really brought Stoick back to earth "Oh Hiccup; I hope he's alright."

"Well now you've had a go at it, you can see how much safer it is than you would have thought. I'm sure Hiccup got back okay and besides, although I hate to admit it, even the twins have had a lot more experience with dragon riding than me. And your boy is with Astrid; who is one of the most experienced riders of us all. Olvor was right; he was much better off going back with Astrid, than spending all that time on a ship... even if it is Gronckle powered."

"Well I can't argue with that logic" the Chief conceded.

The crowd Stoick was about to address was much larger than the group who had heard him at the same time the previous evening; this time, almost everyone them had a dragon by their side.

"This morning we cleaned up after last night's storm and rebuilt the camp that I thought would be our home for several weeks; but now it appears it will only be needed by most of us for just one more night. The Sharktooth will set sail in a couple of minutes time and I am told that only a few of you want to sail with her, while the rest will be quite happy to fly your dragons back to Berk when you have learnt how to control the little beggars."

As was usual the crowd roared with laughter at Stoicks good humour; Vikings are so easily pleased.

"So anyone who wishes to sail this evening, get your selves and your gear onboard now and all those who can ride, can escort the ship out past the sea stacks and then join the rest of us back at camp where we'll make plans for tomorrow; are there any questions?"

"When will you be headed home Chief?" Starkard called from the back.

"At the moment I intend to be the last off the island; unless we get word of any problem on Berk. Anyone else have a question?" but the crowd was silent "Right then; let's get to it."

Stoick watched his people scatter; this time to their chosen task instead of the usual appointed one. Only three Vikings were currently on the deck of the Sharktooth and that was not even close to being enough help for Olaf to sail her back under normal circumstances, but nobody would ever say that this situation even close to normal.

"Fishlegs m'boy, how confident are you that this will work for us?"

"I'm pretty confident Chief; when Ack first told me about his plan we tried it out on one of the old burned out hulls and it worked a treat. I got my dragon to just hover in front of the bow with a little bit of pressure on the rope and before we knew it, the other four Gronckles just flew into formation and dragged the ship forty yards down the beach until I stopped and landed... and they weren't even trying hard."

"That's wonderful, but why do you think these beasts seem so eager to help us? I just can't figure it out for the life of me."

"I've been working on a theory about that Chief; if you'd like to hear it."

Fishlegs liked to tell people his ideas. It was a shame that they did not always want to listen; but Stoick was developing a new respect for Fishlegs and his abilities.

"Indeed, tell me lad."

"Well sir, when Astrid told us how she and Hiccup had first come here, she said that the dragons were scared of the Red Death... err... that's the name I've given the giant dragon; she told us how they would be eaten if it wasn't happy with the food offering they gave, so when we came here and killed the beast that was so cruel to them, then they must have started to see us differently."

"That's a very good theory Fishlegs."

"Thank you sir; and then when we started feeding them and being kind to them, then they must have wanted to please us out of some kind of gratitude... I think... oh and they love having their tummies rubbed too."

"Indeed; well if you're right, that may explain why everything has gone so well for us today."

"Right Chief; This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

"Humph" Stoick thought about the boys words "I wish I'd said that."

**Great jokes or Berk:**

**When the sun is in the east, it's morning, and when it's high overhead, it's lunchtime; but what time is it when there are ten Gronckles sitting on your house?**

**Time to build a new house.**


	22. Chapter 22

22 All Hail Chief Olvor

Olvor and Gothi entered the Great Hall to the sound of Vikings arguing almost to the point of fighting, but silence fell as two of the most respected members of the tribe walked in to the room and stood at the head of the large oval table that surrounded the fire pit. The two women had taken their time in re-dressing Hiccups leg, therefore giving the angry tribe a chance to get a good deal angrier. They declared openly to each other how disgusted they were that the dragons were being treated far better than the warriors and how the young Vikings should be punished for what they had done.

"Where's Astrid?' someone shouted "She owes us an apology for what she's done."

Olvor looked at the crowd and saw that they were not in the mood to listen to reason so she decided to try and turn the situation around unreasonably. If Stoick were there he would have been able to order the attack on the dragons to stop, but in his absence Mulch was in command and so disobeying him was the same as disobeying Stoick. Olvor needed to make them all believe that that she was now in charge and it was they who were disobeying the Chiefs orders and when this was achieved, then the Dragon Riders would no longer be in such deep trouble.

What she was about to do was very unfair on the brave Vikings who were only protecting the village, but it had to be done before more dragons started arriving back on Berk and causing more upset. She was about to take a huge risk by replacing Mulch as acting chief of the tribe and when Stoick found out (and he would find out) he would be expected to hand out a severe punishment. For if anyone was to take the Chiefs position at the Great Hall, it would be seen as a challenge to his leadership; unless that person spoke for the Chief and had his permission, which she did not.

"I speak with the authority of Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk" she lied "and I speak to the members of his tribe; will you hear me?"

It was done and now Olvors place in the tribe was in great peril for if Stoick did not approve of her taking this liberty, he would have to banish her from Berk forever or lose the respect of his people.

"We will hear she who speaks for our Chief" Mulch gave the traditional reply and so Olvor spoke.

"The warriors of Berk lead by Chief Stoick the Vast did indeed land on Dragon Island yesterday morning exactly as planned and prepared defences to lay siege to the dragon's home."

A collective gasp went up and a chatter moved around the Great Hall; the Vikings of Berk had been trying to find the dragon's nest for three hundred years and had always failed but Stoick had succeeded and proved himself to be Berks greatest chief of all time.

"On Stoick's order, the catapults opened up the side of the volcano where the nest lay but instead of attacking, the dragons all fled."

A huge cheer filled the hall and so Olvor was forced to call for calm before she could continue.

"But as the dragons fled, we heard a mighty roar coming from inside and a giant dragon, of a type not seen before, broke out and attacked us; it stood almost as high as the mountain itself and with one breath of flame it destroyed our entire fleet of Longships."

Eyes opened wide and mouths dropped as everyone stood in stunned silence and wondered how many of their friends still lived.

"The rocks from our catapults bounced off its hide and left no mark to show the places where they had struck so Chief Stoick gave the order for everyone to retreat to the far side of the island while he heroically distracted the beast. Stoick did intend to sacrifice himself to give his people the best hope of escaping, but while beast was advancing on he and Gobber, four dragons attacked the giant from out of the sky and saved us all; these dragons were all ridden by the young trainees and led by Stoicks son Hiccup."

The listener's faces now wore looks of astonishment and confusion as she told them of how Stoick had released the Night Fury from its bonds and of Hiccups battle in the clouds, but when she came to the explosive destruction of the giant and Hiccups injury, every head dropped and every eye closed. Olvor knew that the next words she spoke would be Astrids only chance of redemption in the eyes of those whom she had attacked.

"Stoick declared to us all that we should only ever attack a dragon if it threatens us and he followed this up by entrusting the life of his son, the Hero of Dragon Island, to Astrid and her dragon Stormfly; so when she defended him against your attack, she did so under the express orders of her Chief."

"W...w...we... d..didn't know..." Mulch stammered "is the boy alright?"

"He lives, but he still has not awoken."

Olvor was beginning to enjoy the power she wielded and decided to go for broke.

"But don't worry everyone, I will speak to Stoick on your behalf and explain to him that you had no way of knowing that the dragon you attacked was carrying his injured son and that you were bravely defending the village with your very lives. When I first entered the Great Hall tonight, I heard someone demand an apology from Astrid, but believe me when I tell you this; now that she has had time to calm down and now that Hiccup is safe, she is very sorry for the way that she treated you all... but I say that she did the right thing... Stoick entrusted his son to her care and she had no choice but to defend him... so please give her a chance and I do think you should give her your apologies for trying to knock her out of the sky."

The tribe murmured as they considered what Olvor had said but it seemed that the trouble was over... for now.

The welcome smell of cooked fish wafted down to the water as Stoick, Gobber and Agnar watched the Sharktooth disappear into the distance and with it went Olaf the skipper, eight crew, one boy and five Gronckles all making their way slowly back to Berk. Several of the newest batch of Dragon Riders were now returning to the island from ship escort duty. Many of them hoped this would be their last night on Dragon Island. A very proud looking Deadly Nadder glided gracefully into land nearby and walked up to the three men.

"You should have tried it Agnar" Odd told his friend as he dropped to the ground "we saw the ship all the way to Astrids Island and I haven't had so much fun in years."

"My dragon is still a little skittish with a rider on its back so I didn't want to push it too far out to sea till I was sure he was ready for it."

"Very wise" Stoick agreed "so you enjoyed yourself then Odd?"

"Well you know what it's like Chief. So have you decided what breed of dragon your gonna train yet?"

"Not yet but something big and comfortable I think."

"So not a Gronckle then?" Gobber smirked.

"Very funny Gobber" Stoick didn't smile "but what about you? You haven't even been up yet."

"Well actually, with your permission I'd like to head back to Berk with Sigrid first thing in the morning; there's a few little tasks I'd like to get done as soon as I can... if you don't mind."

"What kind of tasks, can't they wait till we get everyone safely back to Berk?"

"They could I suppose, but have a look at this first."

Gobber bent down and began to draw in the sand with his finger. He drew a rough sketch of a person with a very strange looking left leg; Stoick's eyes grew wider as he began to understand.

"Oh... I err think we should have a word with Sigrid then."

"Good because I have another little plan I would like to run past you both."

With a soft creak, the door to Stoicks home opened just enough for the face of a timid Viking to fit through the gap, but the horns of his helmet still had to remain outside.

"Astrid... Miss... can we err... can we come in please? We do promise not to hurt master Hiccup miss, really we do."

The youngest warrior was developing quite a reputation on two islands now, but the worried men and women at the door were very fortunate that her rage had subsided as she sat in the warm room with the still sleeping Hiccup. When Gothi and Olvor had un-wrapped his leg, the sight of it had made Astrid feel ill, but she was determined not to look away. This was a part of him now and she would accept it for it was. His leg was nothing to be ashamed of and if he awoke... she stopped herself, WHEN he awoke she would make sure that he knew his leg had not changed the way she felt about him in any way. Olvor used the water and alcohol mix to clean his wound once more, but did not soak the dressing this time. Instead she used one of Gothi's herbal concoctions that had a much more pleasing smell to it. Olvor explained to Astrid that the new dressing would make the leg feel numb so Hiccup would not be in as much pain when he awoke.

Astrid looked up when the six Vikings entered the large room where she sat with only her dragon and the sleeping boy for company.

"Close the door behind you please, we need to keep this room warm."

The group was relieved that she spoke softly and politely as they approached her and they began to feel like this would not be so bad after all.

"We're very sorry about what happened and we want you to know that we would never have attacked you had we known the truth."

Astrid stood and looked straight at them all which unnerved the men in the group as they were all married men and they recognise that look. It was a look of grim determination that their wives would have if their husbands were in trouble. They began to feel that things did not bode well for them, but they soon found they were wrong when she spoke.

"I apologise too for the way I acted but... well... it had been a very long day and a very long trip" she smiled and the Vikings could all relax at last.

"You could make it up to me if you want."

"Anything Miss; you just name it" they grinned feeling happy to get on her good side.

"Could you bring Hiccups bed down from upstairs please; quietly?"

After making quick work of their task the four men and two women left just as Gothi arrived to check on the boy once more. She was very satisfied with the sounds of his heart and breathing, but was also pleased with the light snore that emitted from Astrid as she lay on the bench where Hiccup had been, before he was placed in his own bed once more. Gothi smiled to herself as she covered the girl in a woollen blanket, put some wood on the fire and settled down in a chair next to the sleeping dragon and soon the sound of another person snoring filled the air as she soon them in slumber.

**Greatest jokes from Berk:**

**What do you get if you cross a Gronckle with a Gopher?**

**Caddyshack 3.**


	23. Chapter 23

23 New Berk City

Olvor stood a few feet away from her front door and stretched her arms up over her head as she indulged in a long slow yawn. The distant clouds glowed a bright yellowy orange in the pre-dawn light and it looked to be another perfect day for flying as she considered when she should depart Berk for Dragon Island.

"After breakfast defiantly" she told herself "or maybe after lunch."

Shivering a little in the cold morning air, Olvor knew she had made the right decision to bring Hiccup back home and into Gothi's care where he would no doubt recuperate much quicker than in a cold, damp cave. With two light taps to announce her arrival, she opened the door to Stoicks house to find Gothi stoking the fire as Stormfly lay close by curled up on the floor; the alert dragon raised her head and turned toward the door at the sound of Olvors entrance, but settled once again as soon as she saw it was only another friendly face.

"Rraark."

"And good morning to you too Stormfly" Olvor rubbed the contented dragons face as a sleepy eyed Astrid rose up from the bench on which she had slept the night away.

"Any change in Hiccup?" Astrid got straight to the point.

"Give me a chance; I just got here so why don't you go and get some breakfast for Gothi and me while we check him out?"

Now full of energy after a good night's sleep, Astrid pulled on her boots and made for the door.

"Come on Stormfly."

She held the door open as the dragon ducked under the lintel and the pair made their way through the town to the surprise of a few early risers, who were still not used to seeing a young girl with a pet dragon. It appeared to many as if the dragon were chasing her as she fled until she turned around to run backward while coaxing the beast to run faster. As they arrived at Astrid's home, she signalled the dragon to stay out before going inside to the kitchen. Throwing open the window shutters, she grabbed an armful of kindling wood from the box by the stove and returned outside.

"Okay Stormfly give me a small flame."

She rolled her hand away from her mouth as a signal to the dragon who took a deep breath and shot a flame out over the town square to the surprise of a frightened onlooker as Astrid lit the ends of the wood just as she had the night before.

"Good morning" she called out to the shocked and wide eyed villager before re-entering the house. After placing the burning kindling under the hot plate, Astrid ran off to the hen house.

Down in the arena Ruffnut and Tuffnut led their Zippleback out of the former prison cell (now dragon pen) into the morning light. Snotlouts Nightmare had refused to go inside the night before as it still saw the cage covered arena as a place of battle and oppression, so Snotlout had taken it home with him since his house was empty; both his parents were still on Dragon Island.

"Whadda ya say dragon" Tuffnut asked "do ya wanna get some breakfast?"

"Of course he does" his sister replied "and so does mine."

"But... wait... yours is mine aren't they?"

"You just stay off my side of the dragon" Ruffnut demanded.

"Err... which is your side again?" he asked a little confused.

"The right side of course."

"Oh... so my side is..."

"The wrong side" Ruff grinned smugly.

"Yeah the wrong si... hey wait."

"Just grab the basket, get on the ugly one and let's go fishing."

Tuffnut did as he was told and soon the siblings were flying off on their two headed dragon down to the sea. Each head took turns guiding the body in flight while the other head would pluck a fish from out of the water as they flew. When both heads were gastronomically satisfied, Ruffnut got the attention of her side of the dragon and pointed to the sea; the idea was soon communicated and the right head pulled another fish from the sea and offered it to her.

"Hey moron" she called to her brother "gimme the basket."

Tuffnut held out the basket to his sister who pointed to it and the fish; after looking inside the basket, the dragon looked back at Ruffnut.

"Go on then" she encouraged and eventually the dragon dropped the fish in.

"Good dragon" she smiled and scratched its neck and then pointed down to the sea again.

Both heads soon got the idea and began to enjoy how they had managed to train the two young Vikings into scratching them in exchange for a worthless fish; soon the basket was full and so they turned around to fly home again where they landed in the village square causing several villagers to leap back in surprise.

"Wow" Ruffnut observed "it's not like Dragon Island; everyone is so jumpy here."

"Don't worry sis; I have an idea" Tuffnut declared proudly as he jumped up onto a stone block.

"Fellow Berkians, please listen to my cry. My humble sibling and I have just returned from a fruitful session of dragon fishing and we now have this basket filled to over flowing with fine fresh fish, blemished only by a few small teeth marks. If you would care to share in this plentiful bounty, please do not hesitate to help yourselves at no cost to you; save for a scratch on the chin in gratitude for a job well done."

A few people approached cautiously and slowly took some fish from within the basket.

"So all you want for these fish... is a scratch under the chin?" one asked.

"That is correct my good villager."

The man shrugged his shoulders and scratched Tuffnut's chin.

"NOT ME YOU IDIOT; THE DRAGON!"

"I knew there'd be a catch to it" and he threw the fish back in the basket.

Tuffnut went over to his two headed buddy and gave it a hug.

"Oh come on people this wonderful dragon got all these fish for you because he... or they... or... whatever, only wants to be your friend."

"I don't know boy" the man replied "it don't seem right havin' a Zippleback around a barfin' and a belchin' all over the place."

"Hey... cool names" Tuffnut grinned "do you hold copyright?"

"Don't worry about the teeth" Ruffnut reassured the people "it bit me last night when I tripped and stood on its tail; it didn't hurt... much."

The man moved slowly closer to Tuffnut and the dragon, held out his nervously shaking hand and placed it under the left heads chin. The dragon gave one of its deep guttural purrs and sat down as the other villagers stepped closer to try their hands with the friendly beast. Astrid chose that very moment to walk on by with Stormfly and a tray full of breakfast for Olvor and Gothi.

"Hey Tuffnut" she called out "good work."

"Thanks but the dragon caught all the fish."

Astrid smiled and shook her head "Can't even understand a compliment" she chuckled to herself. She felt something tug at her skirt looked down to see Little Freya, Freya's daughter with a fish in her hand looking up.

"Hello Freya; I was with your mother yesterday and she'll be home soon."

The five year old looked at Stormfly and asked "Would your dragon like a fish too?"

"I think she would, so why don't you hold it up for her."

Stormfly looked to her pet girl for a clue when the small person offered her the fish, but there appeared to be no protest or jealousy so she opened her mouth a little and gently lifted it from the little girl's hands.

"That's it Stormfly; good girl" Astrid reassured the dragon.

Stormfly swallowed the fish and then bent down to the small person who wrapped her arms around the big blue neck in a firm hug; Stormfly was very glad that her girl was mature enough not to get temperamental when the dragon played with other people, unlike that poor Zippleback's pets who were always fighting.

"Hey Ruff can you give me a hand with this tray for a minute?"

When Ruffnut took the tray, Astrid bent down and picked up Little Freya and placed her on Stormflys back.

"Come on then" she took back the tray "let's go deliver this breakfast."

Little Freya giggled with delight as she rode Stormfly across the square, but someone did not like what they saw.

"I don't think Big Freya would approve of you putting her little girl up there" came the accusation.

"Oh you should see her mother's dragon" Astrid replied sweetly "it's a Monstrous Nightmare."

It had often been said that Snotlout Jorgenson was not stupid, but he was very lazy and had been known take the easy path even if it was not the wisest thing to do. Taking a Monstrous Nightmare home for the night was not a wise idea at all. When the dragon had refused to enter the arena last evening, Snotlout had not tried to encourage it, or allay it's fears simply because he just couldn't be bothered. So he had taken the dragon home to spend the night with him and now he had to live with the consequences.

The average Viking home is not known for its delicate, craftsman built and highly polished furnishings, but rather for a more basic decor of tables and beds made from logs cut lengthways, benches and chairs made with axes (not lathes and planes) so it would take a lot to damage the average Viking home; the Monstrous Nightmare is a lot of dragon.

"Astrid you gotta help me!" Snotlout pleaded.

"Umm... no I don't think I do."

"Oh come on; I helped you out with that Scauldron."

"You nearly shot my head off!"

"And I helped you bring Hiccup the legless wonder back to Berk" he had struck at her weak spot "I risked my own life for someone who will probably die anyway, but when Snotlout needs help..."

Astrid cringed at his blatant insensitivity, but he was right and she did owe him some help.

"Alright just let give Olvor and Gothi their breakfast and I come and help."

"Thanks; meet me at my house." Snotlout ran off satisfied to have his way once more.

After giving Gothi the tray, Astrid lifted Little Freya from Stormflys back. She had a very difficult time trying to separate the two new friends without promises of many more rides to come, but when girl and dragon finally arrived at the Jorgenson home, Astrid had to admit that she had underestimated the size of the problem.

"Wow!" was all she could say but it did sum up the situation perfectly.

"Wow? Is that all you can say?"

"Err... far out?" she commented predicatively.

"So what do I do?" cried the desperate Snotlout.

"Are you kidding me? You clean it up of course; haven't you ever cleaned your house before?"

"No... well... it's always sorta been clean when I got home."

"Did you think the house trolls just did it for you?"

A look of distinct panic crossed Snotlouts face.

"House trolls? Where?"

"Come on bright boy I'll show you what to do" Astrid entered the former domicile.

"Hmm... I think the first thing we should do is to get this dragon outside."

A sleeping dragon can be a peaceful and relaxing sight, but if that dragon has a tendency to twitch and swish it's tale as it dozes, it is not a good idea to let it sleep in a confined space.

"Come on dragon, wake up."

Astrid was surprised to find some of Mrs. Spitelout's underwear hanging from the Nightmare's teeth as it stood.

"What the..." she stared wide eyed.

"Mom likes to keep a cured ham with her clothes; she says the smell keeps dad... interested."

A brief shiver moved over Astrid from top to toe as she removed the articles from the dragons face.

"It's a smell that obviously keeps dragons interested too" she noted "do you want to get this hook fanged menace out of here please?"

As Snotlout led the Monstrous Nightmare out to join the other dragons in the morning light he subconsciously began to refer to the beast by its new name, but later he would claim it was he who had thought of it.

"Sit here Hookfang and stay out of trouble."

He would also later claim that the name had been inspired by the dragon's fierce countenance and would even come to believe so himself as he had no memory of the first time it had ever been mentioned. Astrid spent some of the next hour cleaning up Casa del Jorgensen. She spent most of her time trying to explain to Snotlout how to help, but she eventually managed to remove herself from the house and was surprised to find only Hookfang sat outside the door.

"Stormfly?" she called but the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

As Astrid walked down the hill toward the square she heard two distinctly different voices saying exactly the same thing. This would have been strange enough in itself, except that they were both saying 'Rraak' repetitively.

"Oh now I've seen everything" Astrid declared as she stood with her hands on hips.

Standing near the edge of the village square, Little Freya bobbed up and down with her hands in her armpits while flapping her elbows. Standing opposite her was a certain blue dragon, wings out and moving its head up and down in perfect unison with the tiny Viking. As she watched, the pair began to move their heads from left to right in what could only be described as the first time in history, anyone had ever danced with a dragon; some of the villagers stared amazed and a few even began to clap their hands in time with the dance as Ruffnut walked up and joined in Astrid's astonishment.

"Who'd have thought it Ruff; my dragon has rhythm." And she went to join in the fun.


	24. Chapter 24

24 Get Down and do the Funky Dragon

Olvor put down her plate after finishing the breakfast that Astrid has prepared; it had consisted of scrambled eggs on grilled bread with Yak butter, fried ham and eggs with a boiled egg each. She glanced at the peaceful look on Hiccups face as she pondered what she had just eaten.

"You know Gothi if those two should ever get married, my wedding gift will consist of two chickens and a pig. That should keep Astrid supplied with breakfast ingredients for a while."

Gothi was often known to smile, but this was one time the elderly woman actually laughed out loud.

"Well I suppose I should leave Hiccup in your capable hands and go see Snotlout about getting back to Dragon Island; is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"

The Elder shook her head as Olvor looked over Hiccup's leg one more time before walking to the door. The new day brought a new Berk as the people of the village slowly became accustomed to their new lives as Dragon Riders rather than Dragon Fighters; just as the Vikings on Dragon Island had done the day before. The sight that greeted Olvor at the town square was both unexpected and delightful as some of the villagers pampered a Zippleback on one side and others watched as two girls danced with a Nadder on the other.

"You will never cease to amaze me Astrid."

"Don't blame me for this Olvor" she stopped bobbing up and down and approached the doctor "it was Little Freya that started all this."

"It's wonderful to think about the kind of place Berk is going to be for children now; when Freya grows up and has a family of her own, they will have no memories of dragon raids and the village being destroyed."

"Just think of what we can build here now" the realisation of Berks future suddenly hit Astrid like wet haddock, but then she was suddenly hit by a wet haddock; the twins were arguing once more and had started to throw fish at each other.

"Excuse me Olvor but I have to crack some Thorston skulls together."

As Astrid left to attempt some rather violent peace negotiations, Olvor off went in search of Snotlout at the arena. She instead found his dragon curled up in the morning sun outside the Jorgenson home and although the cleanup had progressed well, Olvor was still presented with a scene of domestic horror as an overwhelmed Snotlout tried to determine what could be saved and what was a total lost cause.

"What on earth..?"

"DON'T BLAME ME; IT WAS THE STUPID DRAGON" screamed the frustrated boy.

"Alright Snotlout calm down... I'll help you get all of this lot sorted out."

It did not take Olvor long to realise that the only way she was going to get Snotlout to fly her back to Dragon Island, was to give him her help first and so she continued what Astrid had started in trying to show Snotlout how to separate his big mess into smaller messes before tackling each of them one at a time. She still had hope they would be on their way back to Dragon Island within the hour, but after about twenty minutes they received a visit from Astrid with some surprising news.

"Hey you two" she called "you may want to come and see this."

As they left the dark house and went out into the brightening day, Olvor shielded her face from the glare as Astrid pointed out over the ocean. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the outdoor light and began to make out many small silhouettes far off in the distance. It was not long before she could make out the largest of the shapes, but had difficulty believing what her eyes were telling her. Olvor could see four large dragons carrying one of the Vikings fishing nets and suspended within it, was Hiccups Night Fury, Toothless.

A large group of dragons flew with them, but it was difficult to make out how many there were. At first she thought twenty or thirty but soon she saw that it was over fifty and most of them carried a Viking passenger and several bore two. The main group flew Toothless over to Gobber's forge and placed him gently on the ground. Astrid ran down to greet them with Stormfly following behind and Little Freya close at their heels. Olvor noticed trouble coming when she saw that Spitelout Jorgenson was approaching on the back of a large Gronckle and would soon be at his front door.

"Snotlout" she called in hushed tones through the doorway "Your Dad's here so listen closely and follow my lead."

"O…okay" the mildly panicking Snotlout replied.

After giving Snotlout some quick instructions as to what to say she made for the door.

"I'M SORRY OLVOR" Snotlout called from within "YOU'LL HAVE TO GO BACK WITH SOMEONE ELSE WHILE I CLEAN UP THIS MESS; AND PLEASE TELL MY DAD WHAT HAS HAPPENED."

"What on earth HAS happened?" Spitelout asked Olvor as he slid off of the Gronckle.

"We had a little bit of dragon trouble this morning when one of the beasts caught the scent of your wife's ham. The dragon came looking for it while Snotlout was helping me with Hiccup and it's made a bit of a mess. We're all still getting used to living with huge unwieldy beasts, but you will be pleased to know that Snotlout has taken it all on himself to get everything fixed up. He really is a very responsible boy."

Listening from behind the door, Snotlout took his cue and came out of the doorway with his part of the 'Con-my-dad' plan ready to go.

"Thanks for all you help Olvor and I'm sure mom and dad will want to thank you too when they... Dad, your back!" he smiled "wait till you hear what happened here last night."

"Olvor told me that a dragon got inside and made a bit of a mess."

"That's putting it mildly, but it was entirely my fault for not being more careful. The dragon obviously needs a bit more training but I'll get on to that as soon as I've finished here."

He had laid on the charm so thick that anyone else would have known instantly that he was lying but fortunately for Snotlout, his father thought his son was virtually perfect so he fell for every word.

"Good work son and don't blame yourself; none of us are really sure exactly how to deal with dragons yet and I'm glad to see that you're on top of the situation. Stoick has asked me to help make the village 'dragon ready' so let me know when you're done and I'll come and inspect."

As Spitelout and his Gronckle flew off toward the forge, the relief on his sons face was very plain to see but he had failed to notice one minor detail.

"Umm... what do you think may happen if he talks to Astrid down at Gobbers workshop?" Olvor asked.

"OH NO!"

Fortunately for Snotlout it is possible to outrun a Gronckle over a short distance if the runner is desperate and the dragon is not, and so he managed to reach Astrid as she fussed over Toothless a few seconds before his father arrived.

"Please don't tell my Dad about Hookfang sleeping in my house last night."

Astrid smiled an evil smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Certainly Snotlout, no problem. You can count on me."

"Thanks Astrid, I owe you one" and he ran off back his home to finish off the clean up.

"Yes" Astrid told herself "you owe me big time; I am going to enjoy this."

Olvor wandered down to the forge area to have a word or two with the new arrivals. Although dragons and Vikings were landing all over the village, she noticed the four dragons carrying Toothless back, were ridden by people who could answer all of her questions. At the front, Sigrid and Freya had piloted their Nightmares while Odd and Gobber carried the back of the net while riding on a Nadder and a Gronckle respectively.

"Good morning" she called out "and what brings you all to Berk on this fine day?"

"Well in my case, a Gronckle brings me" Gobber joked "but I'll bet you did not expect to see all of us so early in the day."

"I didn't expect to see any of you at all... not until I got back to Dragon Island this afternoon."

"Quite a lot happened after you left, so we changed all our plans over a pleasant dinner of fish, fish and more fish, but I'll let the others fill in all the details because I have some very important tasks to see too. Come along Pigg."

And so without another word, Gobber picked up a large bundle that had been in the net with Toothless and trotted off to his workshop with his Gronckle doing likewise.

"He named a dragon Pig?" Olvor was aghast.

"With two G's" Odd informed her as he patted his Nadder at the base of its neck "and this handsome creature is Windrunner."

"Windrunner" Olvor considered "much better than Pigg... just don't tell Gobber I said that."

"And over here" he gestured to the two Monstrous Nightmares "we have Cuddles and Buttercup."

"You have got to be kidding me."

While Big Freya introduced her daughter to Cuddles, Sigrid joined Odd and Olvor to let the doctor know of the latest in current events. They sat on a bench near to the back of the forge from where a pleasing warmth emitted thanks to Pigg.

"With about thirty craftsmen working on her, the Sharktooth was ready to leave late in the afternoon and she even set sail with Gronckle assistance; we even spotted them a few hours ago making good time so we should be welcoming Olaf and his crew back later tonight."

"And the more dragons we befriended" Odd continued "the easier it became as the Vikings with dragons helped train the newest ones just like Fishlegs did. Before we knew it, we had enough air transport to head back to Berk straight away. Stoick will be bringing back the last group later once everyone has mastered the finer points of dragon control."

Olvor began to look a little concerned at the news; she had hoped to get the chance to talk to Stoick alone back on Dragon Island, but if he were to return to a hero's welcome before she could explain her actions in the Great Hall, then her fate would be sealed and he would have no chance to pardon her before the tribe found out that she had lied about speaking in the Chiefs name.

"What's wrong Olvor" Odd noticed the fear in her eyes.

"Not out here" she said secretively "come back to my house where we can talk in private."


	25. Chapter 25

25 An Unexpected Loss

The last eighteen Vikings on Dragon Island sat around the glowing stone cooking fire, each with a dragon at his or her side, enjoying a last meal before they set off for Berk; Stoick stood up and picked up two fish from a nearby basket before returning to his seat and holding up a fish in each hand.

"Come and get it lads."

The twin heads of a Zippleback took a fish each and nuzzled the sides of Stoicks face with a satisfied purr as the great Chief roared with laughter.

"I am definitely going to enjoy living with dragons when we get home."

"Ya know we're going to have a lot of work to do when we get back Stoick" Thorfinn pointed out "with all these dragons living with us, the whole village will need to be changed... upgraded."

"Indeed Thorfinn and we'll need to work out what needs to be done as soon as we get back, since the dragons are already there."

"Aye Chief" piped up Phlegma the Fierce "its okay for our homes to be made of wood, but the beasties will need stone stables that they can nay burn down."

"Much like the volcano there" Ivar concluded.

"Well actually I don't think it is a volcano" Thorfinn pointed out "it's just a mountain."

Everyone was surprised at this comment and most were disbelieving of his statement and so Thorfinn explained.

"When we first came here, the whole place was completely surrounded by a thick sea fog right? Well when Hiccup destroys the Red Death, that fog begins to slowly thin and the next morning after the storm it's gone even though we have always seen it here in the past. Don't ya all remember how every time we would go searching for the dragons nest, come rain or shine we would always come up against that sea mist; but look at the mountain now."

They all turned as one to look up at the mountain as Thorfinn continued.

"When we first landed here I could see red glowing molten rock pouring from vents in the mountainside, but now they have gone dark and cold and so has the glow that came from deep within the hole that our catapults made. I believe that the Red Death would use its mighty breath to keep its mountain home hot deep inside, so the sea water surrounding the island would be warmer than the waters of Berk or even the waters around Astrids Island to the east. That was what caused the sea fog, but now that the mountain has cooled, it's all gone."

"You've really put a lot of thought into this haven't you?" Ivar noted "But I still think it's a volcano."

"Time will tell and it is all very interesting, but I think it's time that we got back to practicing our dragon flying skills. I would like to set off for Berk in another hour or so" Stoick ordered.

As the group of contented, fish filled Vikings and dragons arose from lunch, a Deadly Nadder approached followed a short time later by the islands biggest Nightmare.

"Hullo there" Stoick greeted Sigrid and Odd with a broad smile "I didn't expect to see you two back here today; is anything wrong?"

"Maybe Chief" Odd spoke quietly so no others would hear "we need to have a little private chat before you return to Berk."

Stoick could see the concern on their faces so he called to Thorfinn.

"Take the group for a trip round the mountain and over to Astrids Island while I have a talk with Odd and Sigrid."

"Right Chief" Thorfinn replied and set off to fulfil his orders.

"Is there anything wrong with Buttercup" Stoick asked "he doesn't look very well."

"No he doesn't Chief" Sigrid frowned "I should have let him rest longer back on Berk after he helped carry Toothless all that way."

"I think you're right Sigrid; a Nightmare of his great size... well... he must be very old."

"Sit down lad" Sigrid petted her dragon "have yourself a good rest."

The trio walked south from the camp but their dragons all kept following several feet behind no matter how much Sigrid tried to make Buttercup rest; eventually she gave up and they all stopped walking."

"It's Hiccup isn't it?" Stoick assumed that was why his friends had returned "he didn't make it through."

"Hiccup is still alive and resting in Gothi's care" Sigrid reassured him "but Astrid and Olvor did have some trouble when they got back to Berk."

"What kind of trouble?" Stoick asked concerned.

"Well... the others in the village weren't expecting a group of Dragon Riders to arrive last night, so they attacked the dragons; Hiccup and Astrid were almost killed."

"Aarrgh... I should have seen that coming" Stoick fumed.

"Olvor did" Odd calmed him "but it still didn't go according to plan and... well... Astrid went a little bit berserk in defending Hiccup and Stormfly; she almost caused a riot."

Stoick smiled a little and shook his head "She a tough one alright; so what's the problem, did she hurt someone?"

"Err... no but everyone was so angry that Olvor had to take desperate measures to keep things from going totally out of control again."

"How; what did she do?"

"She took your place in the Great Hall" Sigrid admitted "and claimed to speak with your authority."

"Oh" Stoick was worried "who else knows about this?"

"Before we go any further Chief, as far as Sigrid and I are concerned" Odd stated "only you and Olvor were aware of your arrangement with her as we were not present during your conversations. So if you tell us that you gave her your authority to act in this way, well that's good enough for me."

"And me too" Sigrid added.

"But if you tell us otherwise, then of course we follow our Chief and not some pretender... if you catch my meaning."

Stoick gave a wry smile and nodded as he considered their words, but before he could respond their attention was re-directed to a strange short roaring breath coming from behind them. Windrunner and Stoicks Zippleback were standing by close to Buttercup when the huge red Nightmare suddenly collapsed near the base of the mountain behind the trio of Vikings.

"BUTTERCUP!" Sigrid shouted as they all ran to the dragon's side.

She fell to her knees and picked up its massive head in her arms as Odd moved in to listen to its chest.

"What's wrong my little baby?" she cooed to the dragon as it gasped for every breath.

Odd stood back up and went to her.

"I so sorry lass, but his heart sounds strange; very strange indeed."

The tears began to flow from the mighty warriors eyes as she held onto the dragon that she had know for less than a day, but had already come to mean so much to her.

"We were going to do so much together" she sobbed "ride the wind, explore the world."

His breathing became short and irregular and Stoick saw a strange look of vacancy in the dragon's normally expressive face. With one long gasp, he breathed his last and closed his eyes for the final time. Sigrid howled as her heart broke; his end had come so quick, so sudden. Odd and Stoick knelt to comfort her and to their surprise, the dragons came to do likewise with one of the Zippleback's heads resting lightly on her shoulder.

Two hours later, the dragons body lay covered over inside a pile of rocks; Sigrid removed her helmet and placed it on a large rock half way up the pile as Ivar blew a long note on his ram's horn. Over twenty dragons spread their wings wide, lifted their heads and roared to the sky as nineteen Vikings each raised their fists and joined in.

"Who would have thought when we landed here that we would soon be mourning the loss of a dragon" Thorfinn sighed.

"A dragon... and a friend" Odd agreed.

"Let us know if... you know... we can help at all" Phlegma smiled.

"Thank you my friends" Sigrid lifted her head "shall we go home Chief?"

"Indeed" agreed Stoick "it's about time I took back my authority as Chief of Berk."

The other Vikings looked at each other with surprise; 'Who acted with his authority?' they wondered. Stoick offered Sigrid a place on his Zippleback as the last of the warriors of Berk mounted their dragons and departed for home.

Stormfly and Cuddles strode up from the dock pulling a huge metal bowl that had formally been one of the village's massive torches. Wood and oil inside the bowl would light up the night sky during the dragon raids. It was placed near Gobbers forge at the bottom of the steps that lead down from Stoick's home and was held straight with four wooden blocks placed around the edge. As soon as the Vikings had it fixed and steady, the call went out for three Gronckles to fly in with the net they carried and fill the bowl with another catch of fresh fish.

"There we go" Mulch stated satisfied "hopefully the dragons like fish much more than they like sheep."

"From what I saw, they never even ate the sheep they stole" Astrid pointed out "Everything went straight into the mouth of the giant dragon, but they will never have to feed that horrid thing again."

"Aye Lass and not to offend or cast any disparages upon you, but I still find it hard to believe that there could ever be anything that big out there."

"Oh no offence will be taken; I still find it hard to believe... and the rotten thing nearly swallowed me. I just hope there are no more like it anywhere out there. Come on Toothless, let's go and see how Hiccup is doing."

"Hold on Astrid" Gobber called out "if you're going up to Stoick's house, you can give me a hand."

She went over to the forge and was given a block of wood but as she contemplated it, more pieces of junk were soon placed in her arms.

"Let's see now" Gobber considered his workbench full of parts "I'll need this and this too… erm… I better take those and Ooo… that as well…"

"HEY" Astrid called from behind the pile she carried "Do you expect me to carry everything, or are you planning to help as well?"

"Oh… sorry Lass" and he removed half the pile "I guess this'll do for now."

"What on earth is all this stuff for anyway?" she asked as they climbed the steps.

"Well you see my dear, our little invalid friend up there will never be satisfied with a fine example of replacement body parts like mine. I've been studying the mechanism that he's constructed for his Night Fury, allowing it to fly with Hiccups help. A leg made from a simple piece of wood just won't cut the sturgeon."

"So you can make him something... better, so he'll still be able to fly on Toothless?"

"That's the plan" he knocked on the door and pushed it open "good afternoon Gothi and how is your little patient doing?"

Gothi shrugged as Gobber pulled back the bed clothes to measure Hiccups leg.

"OWW!" he started as her staff cracked him on the skull "Alright Gothi; I'll be careful."

Astrid tended to the fireplace as Toothless lay curled up at the foot of the bed, dozing but not fully asleep. When Gobber had finally finished his measuring and playing with his pieces of bent metal and carved wood, he covered Hiccup again and picked up the rest of his bundle."

"Come along now lizard, I need you outside for a minute or two. Can you give me a hand please Astrid?"

She roused the dragon with a rub on the top of his head and led him to the door. Once they were all out in the sunshine, Gobber straightened Toothless's tail, laid some of his project alongside and took more measurements.

"Hmm... yes... that will do nicely. Righty ho then, I've got some casting to do" and he picked up most of his things and hobbled off back down the hill.

"Bring the rest when you come down Lass" he called back as he rushed off.

After she had taken Toothless back inside and checked on Hiccup once more, Astrid gathered up the rest of Gobbers parts and bid farewell to Gothi as she closed the door behind her. While walking carefully down the steps with an armful of metal rods and bars, she met up with Little Freya passing by while doing another loop of the village on Stormfly's back. The dragon nuzzled Astrid's cheek, almost causing her to drop her load of scrap metal.

"Yes it's good to see you too Stormfly" she looked up to Freya "You can't keep her you know; I'm gonna want her back soon."

"Yeah" Freya was resigned but disappointed "But Mom says she won't let me ride on Cuddles till she can be sure he won't catch fire while I'm sitting on him; I wish I had my own dragon" she pouted.

"Alright then you can take one more trip around town and then I need to take her for a flight around the island."

"Can I come too?" Freya bounced excitedly.

"NO; I have work to do."

"Meany" came the accusation as the dragon walked off once more.

"Where do you want all this stuff Gobber?" Astrid called out.

"Anywhere on the bench will do" the blacksmith answered as he poured molten metal into the pair of moulds he had made since returning that morning.

"Did I hear you say that you're going for a little trip around the island later?" Gobber asked.

"Yeah; I wanted to see if any of the wild dragons have been settling on Berk... now that they're free to leave Dragon Island. Also Odd asked me to check out some good places to build the dragon pens. They need to be close by and easily reached, but not crowding the village."

"Well if he wants them close but not in anybody's way, then you only have to think about what it is you want to house."

"I don't understand what you're getting at" Astrid admitted.

"Well think about this; Ships and Sheep."

The puzzlement on Astrids face only deepened as she considered his words.

"Nope; you've lost me."

"Where do we keep our longships?" he prompted.

"Down at the dock."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? That's where the water is."

"And where are the sheep pens?"

"Over by the cliffs where they can get... to... the...fields." she began to understand.

"Thanks Gobber." And she ran out to find Stormfly.

"That's my girl; almost as slow as Stoick, but she gets there in the end."

"I HEARD THAT" she called back as she ran.


	26. Chapter 26

26Next Stop: Berk

Getting Stormfly back from Little Freya was no easy task, but eventually Astrid was soaring around the island high above the tallest peak. Three massive Timberjacks glided overhead as she looked over the forest below and down to the small cove on the far side of the island. Soon she could see the scar in the landscape where Toothless had crashed to earth. The Night Fury had been brought down by Hiccup using a similar weapon to the one that had almost felled Stormfly only yesterday. Flying around the far point of the island, she moved up the north coast and back toward the village to undertake Berks first aerial survey.

The Vikings, who had arrived early in the day, were already hard at work making the changes that the village needed for the inclusion of dragons in everyday life. The arena was the site with the most activity as weapons were removed to the Armoury, cells were turned into pens and the cage that covered the arena was lifted higher to allow the dragons free movement within.

As Astrid flew out over the ocean she looked back toward the docks at Raven Point and made her way around to the southern side of Berk where she noticed the perfect spot below the rock spire that towered over the town. Guiding Stormfly in close, Astrid had the dragon fire a blast into the rock to leave behind a black mark that would be very hard to miss.

"Good girl" she patted the dragon.

Although Astrid knew she should go straight back to Berk and find some other task that needed to be done, it was too nice a day for flying and ever since Sigrid had mentioned the Sharktooth was now a Gronckle powered longship, she had wanted to see it for herself and now was the perfect time.

"And besides" she told Stormfly "with all the trouble we went through travelling between the islands, it's only right that we should check on them... to make sure they're alright; right?"

"Rraak" Stormfly replied.

"I'm glad you agree."

And so it was that just over half an hour later, Astrid and Stormfly landed on the stern of the Sharktooth with a loud thump.

"Good day to you M'dear" greeted Olaf "do you bring news from our Chief?"

"No; just taking a break from all the work being done at the village."

He laughed as he slapped her on the back so firmly, she almost toppled over.

"Well if anyone deserves a break, it's you for sure after that little trip you took the night of the storm."

"Oh you heard about that?" she said nervously.

"Oh yes, I was at the council meeting when you came out of the cave looking like you had just rolled down a mountain" he laughed again even harder.

Unlike Snotlout, Astrid preferred that everybody not discuss her exploits, but the rising anger and frustration she felt would soon be quashed as the pair made their way to the mast where she laid eyes on one of the cutest sights she had ever seen; two huge Gronckles fast asleep and snoring loudly. The one on the left kicked his leg as he dreamt about whatever it is that Gronckles dream about and Astrid had to move passed with care as the muscular creature could easily break her leg if it caught her the wrong way. Three strong ropes stretched and creaked ahead of the bow, each with a Gronckle at the far end pulling the ship along as the sail assisted from behind.

"Hey Astrid" Fishlegs called from the centre dragon "I'll be finished my shift in another ten minutes."

"His shift? She asked Olaf.

"The Gronckles need to have at least one rider out front or they tend to get a little distracted and will move off in a different direction but with a leader like Fishlegs out there, they keep straight and true. We bring 'em in every hour to swap with the others so they don't get too tired."

"So what happens when his shift over?"

"Well Lass, I've had to put my fear aside and take my turn to ride and so have some of the other Vikings. These Gronckles are much easier to fly on than a Nightmare; they hover slowly and not too high off the water so the rest of us are slowly getting use to it."

"The perfect dragon for beginners then?"

"It's not so much that, it's more because young Fishlegs is a much better teacher than Snotlout who just does as he pleases and expects you to follow along."

"You're not telling me anything new sir" Astrid shook her head.

"Ha... indeed; I guess you have to deal with his strange ways a lot more than we do, with you two being betrothed and all."

"Excuse me" Astrid enquired "could you run that by me again please?"

"Oh he told us all about it while we were all huddled around his burning dragon during the storm."

"And what... exactly... did he tell you all about?"

"Well... how he was your one true love and how you had given him your heart after he had saved you from being eaten by the giant dragon."

"I'll let you in on a little secret."

"What's that Lass?"

"Not only is he a terrible teacher, but THAT MISERABLE LITTLE TROLL IS TOTALLY DELUDED!"

Olaf rubbed a finger in his right ear.

"Yes... well... I can't say that comes as a complete surprise. I hope you can understand that I didn't want to tell you that you could do better if what he said was true, but since it isn't..."

"Yes...?" she enquired.

"You can do better Lass."

Astrid gave a coy smile "I think I already have."

"I hope I'm not the miserable little troll you were yelling about" Fishlegs declared as he dropped onto the deck "and if I am, then I apologise profoundly for whatever it is I may have done."

"It's okay Fishlegs it's..."

"Don't tell me; Snotlout."

"Who else?" Astrid resigned herself.

"Has he been calling you the future Mrs. Snotlout again?"

"AGAIN?"

"Come on Astrid, forget about him and tell me; has Hiccup come around yet?"

He looked so eager for good news about his friend that Astrid wished she had better news to give him.

"Gobbers making him a new leg and Gothi's taking good care of him but..."

"Well... maybe there will be some better news when we get back to Berk tonight. Olaf says we should arrive a couple of hours after sunset so make sure those harbour torches are burning brightly for us."

"You can count on it; so what would you all like at the feast tonight, fish?"

"NO!" shouted the entire crew who had been wanting a change of diet ever since the day they had first sailed from Raven Point.

"Okay then" she climbed onto Stormflys back "Eel pie for all."

A loud chorus of boos and jeers arose all over the ship as Astrid took to the air but everyone happily waved as she circled the ship and headed back to Berk.

"Well that little visit has certainly lifted everyones spirits" Olaf noted.

"She does have a Viking sense of humour alright" Fishlegs agreed.

"And she hinted at a little romance; would that be with the son of our noble Chief I wonder?"

"I not one to gossip Sir..."

"Yes you are, you liar."

"...but I did notice how comfortable they looked riding Stormfly together during our trip to Dragon Island a few days ago."

Olaf's countenance deepened as he noticed something in the sky behind them.

"Take a look up there Lad."

Fishlegs looked up with delight "More dragon riders headed home."

"A smaller group than this morning's but still very impressive; it may be the last of 'em."

"Look!" Fishlegs pointed as a single dragon left the Weyr and dove down to the ship.

As it neared, they could see it was a large Zippleback being ridden by their Chief and one of his warriors; the dragon spread its wings wide to slow its pace as one figure dropped from its back and landed with a loud thump on the stern.

"Permission to come aboard Skipper?" Sigrid declared.

"Granted" Olaf responded as he delightedly shook her hand.

"You're our second visitor in only a few minutes. Look; that little dot up there is Astrid and Stormfly and you just missed them but... where's Buttercup?"

Fishlegs drew nearer as he had been wondering that as well; Sigrid kept her composure as she looked at her feet and shook her head.

"He err... is no longer with us; Odd did tell me that a big dragon is an old dragon and his heart just gave out I'm sorry to say."

"Oh my dear... I am so sorry to hear that and he was such a mighty dragon too."

"Thank you my friend."

"We will raise a stein to him together when we next feast in the Great Hall."

"Indeed" Sigrid brightened up a little "but now some better news; the group that just flew over consisted of the last of the Vikings to leave Dragon Island, so when we make landfall tonight, it will mean that everyone is home safe and sound."

"And we have you and the other Dragon Riders to thank young Fishlegs" Olaf slapped him on the back "now I had better get those two lazy Gronckles up or we won't get back till midnight."

"Its okay sir" Fishlegs interrupted "my dragon is ready to go again so I'll take another shift while you two catch up some more."

"Thank you Lad" Olaf scratched the dragon on the back of its head "You're a good little meat lump workin' so hard for us."

With replacement dragons on each wing, Fishlegs took to the air once more and the longship quickly picked up speed.


	27. Chapter 27

27 And There Was Much Rejoicing

When given free reign, Stormfly would take every opportunity to seek out rising thermals and glide on the wind and since Astrid felt in no hurry to get back to Berk, she let go of the rope completely and let the dragon fly free while she lay back to contemplate her new life and two possible futures, both with and without Hiccup.

She hated to think about the second possibility and that was why she had been trying to keep so busy. In the morning, when Olvor had requested breakfast, Tuffnut had been tickled and Stormfly had learnt how to dance, all of those mind numbing and exhausting thoughts had disappeared, but only for a short time. Now that her mental holiday was over, they had returned with a vengeance and demanded to be contemplated.

Fortunately for Astrid a distant sound broke into her mind before fear and regret could take hold. The sound caught her attention because it was exactly like Stormfly's cry, which was odd because she was riding on Stormfly so it could only be…

Sitting up with a start, Astrid grabbed the rope around the base of Stormfly's neck and guided the dragon around in a gentle port turn and sure enough, a Weyr of about forty dragons, many of them being Nadders and most of them with riders, filled the sky behind her.

"Good afternoon Chief" Astrid called as she drew alongside Stoicks Zippleback "and what brings you to this neck of the clouds."

"A dragon; what else?" this line was rapidly becoming the new Viking pun of choice.

"Is there any news of my son?"

"He hasn't woken up yet but Gothi has redressed his leg and put something on it to dull the pain. Olvor says his heart is still strong, the house is warm and Gobber is working on a new leg for him and a tail for Toothless so mainly good news."

"Unlike your arrival I hear."

"Oh… you've heard about that."

"Odd and Sigrid told me all about it."

"I'm sorry Chief, I can't even explain why…"

"Don't worry Astrid, Olvor and I have an arrangement that will get you off the hook."

"Y…you do? err… thank you Chief."

She did not yet understand what he meant, nor did she know that Stoick had lied about his 'arrangement', but she knew if the Chief was on her side, then her prospects were good. So Astrid followed Stoick lead and let the matter drop. Looking around the sky, Astrid noticed someone who was conspicuous by her absence and so she had to ask.

"Where's Sigrid and Buttercup, still back on the island?

"Ah… I'm afraid my news is not as good as yours."

"Knock knock Gothi" Gobber called through the door.

"May I please have another look at your patient m'dear?"

Gothi eyed Gobber suspiciously as he entered with a parcel under his arm which he placed on a nearby table and removed the cloth wrapping. What lay within was beyond description, but Gothi decided there and then to hit Gobber with it if he didn't give an explanation a darn good try.

"What we have here, oh wisest of the wise, is a very special leg for a very special boy with a very special dragon with a very special need."

'Okay' she thought 'he's having a red hot go at an explanation after all.'

"You see unlike myself, Hiccup is young and still has most of his leg so I have put in this firm spring mechanism that will cushion each step and even enable him to run, once he gets used to it of course." Gothi nodded with approval so he continued.

"And this little flat bit where the foot should be can slip… into…"

Gobber struggled with the pedal that would control Toothless's tail and almost dropped the lot until the pieces finally clicked into place.

"There; I know it looks a bit clumsy but the parts are made to be attached to a leg and a dragon so trying to fiddle with them using a hand and a hook is not easy. So what do you say Gothi, can I see if it fits please?"

He pleaded with a slight bounce like a small child begging for a second helping of ice cream as Gothi pondered the pieces. After a closer inspection of the part that would attach to Hiccup's leg, she gave her approval and Gobber went to work fitting the revolutionary new prosthetic. At first glance, Gothi thought it looked a little too long and pointed it out to Gobber by hitting him on the back of the head.

"OWW! What the… oh don't worry about that" he explained while he rubbed his head.

"When Hiccup stands on it the spring will compress and 'Hey Presto' two legs and both the same length."

A little more pondering and Gothi smiled and nodded her approval.

As the afternoon wore on, Berk continued to change more and more as minor alterations were completed and major ones were begun. It was all for the express purpose of making life with dragons possible. At Gobbers request, the first feeding station was put in place near his forge. The blacksmith had big plans for saddles, harnesses, lifting rigs, net throwers and all kinds of things that he referred to as 'Hiccup Inspired Brainstorms' so he wanted to be able to keep a dragon in one spot while he worked on it and food was usually the best method for achieving that goal.

Olvor had just finished helping to install a second feeder under the rock overhang behind the old arena, now partially converted into a dragon stable, when she felt a sudden urge to check on Hiccup and so she bid her fellow workers adieu and started the climb up to the Chiefs home. Gobber had commandeered Toothless once more and was trying to get the annoyed Night Fury to stay still while he attempted to fit the new and hopefully improved flying rig. As they wrestled, Olvor began to understand why Gobber had made such a fuss about getting the first feeding station. It was such a shame that they weren't at the forge, but outside Stoicks home instead.

"Come on Toothless" she bent down a put her hand on the wriggling dragons head "let Gobber do his job and you'll be ready to fly with Hiccup when wakes up."

After Hiccup, Toothless considered Astrid to be his closest friend and she was often in the company of Olvor, so he had come to accept the doctor by association and although the dragon did not understand her words, her tone was very comforting. Taking advantage of the brief calm that came over the dragon, Gobber finished attaching the tail and began to thread and adjust the control lines.

"What I really need now is someone who has had experience riding a tailless Night Fury."

With a loud thump, Stormfly landed fifteen feet away as Astrid dismounted and ran to them.

"Ah good" Gobber smiled "here's one now; could I get you onto the dragon's saddle please Astrid?"

"Yes Gobber in a minute I have to talk to Olvor."

The urgency in her voice made both Gobber and Olvor concerned.

"What's wrong Astrid?" Olvor enquired.

"I have a message from Chief Stoick; he says you should get some of the villagers who were here when we arrived yesterday and go to the Great Hall. Stoick will join you there soon... and he said you should hurry."

Olvor had been expecting something like this and she hoped it would be relatively painless.

"Right then; you head down to the arena and send over anyone who was here when we arrived and I'll round up some between here and the hall." Olvor told the young girl.

"Hang on" Gobber was annoyed "I need her here. She's the only person awake who has ever ridden a Night Fury before."

"And as soon as you're done, get back here and help Gobber before he starts to cry."

"No need to be like that; there's nothing wrong with being a sensitive Viking." he pouted.

Soon Astrid was entering the arena where a small group of Vikings were making renovation plans. Among them were a few of the men that Olvor needed including Mulch, so Astrid knew she now had a chance to make things right after the disrespect she had shown him the last evening.

"Excuse me Mr. Mulch sir."

He was quite small for a Viking and he had a very cheerful face that was mainly covered by his large, well kept beard as was his stomach.

"Ah hullo Astrid and how's young Hiccup doing?"

"Err… I'm not sure sir, he was okay when I last saw him, but I bring an urgent message from Olvor. Chief Stoick is returning and she would like you to meet her in the Great Hall right away."

"Ah yes, the ceremony will need to be performed as soon as Stoick arrives. Come on lads; it's time to put things back in order."

Astrid wondered what the ceremony might be, but she knew it was for the elders and warriors only. She wasn't on Dragon Island anymore and she knew it would not be a good idea to gate crash again, so helping Gobber was her only option.


	28. Chapter 28

28 The Chief Returns

Olvor could see the dragons approaching as she stood at the door of the Great Hall; Stoick would come, she would confess and he would banish her... if she was lucky. Claiming to speak with the Chiefs authority was very serious business, but she had taken care good of his son so she was sure Stoick would show her some mercy.

"What's she doing standing at the door?" Stoick declared as he looked down "Odd; get down there and tell her to go inside."

"Right Chief" Odd replied and put his Deadly Nadder into a dive.

Fortunately for them both, not many dragons could beat a Nadder for speed in a power dive and Zipplebacks, though fast could also glide very slowly without losing too much altitude thanks to their massive wing area so Stoick was able to hold back while Odd rushed forward and landed his dragon near the left side of the hall.

"Get inside" he whispered as loudly as he could.

Olvor looked at Odd in a very confused way as he rushed up to her with a Nadder trotting happily along behind him.

"Get inside" he repeated "and stand in Stoicks place."

"But I can't..." she protested.

"You have to or you life here is over. Now trust me and GO!"

Olvor followed his instructions and entered the building; she was finding it hard to believe what Stoick was about to do for her. If the people found out that he was about to lie to them all just to protect her, he would lose his position as Chief and he would have to leave Berk with Hiccup and never return. Olvor did not want to go through with this deception, for the risk was too great but if she didn't, all would be revealed so she had no choice but to do her best. She took her place near the end of the hall with a small crowd behind her.

BANG… BANG… BANG.

With three loud knocks on the doors of the Great Hall, the ceremony began.

"WHO DEMANDS ENTRY TO THE COUNCIL OF THE GREAT HALL OF BERK?" she called out as loud as she could.

Stoick threw open both doors and strode alone to the centre of the room saying nothing.

"I AM OLVOR AND I SPEAK AS CHIEF OF BERK; WHO COMES BEFORE ME? STATE YOUR NAME AND BE HEARD."

"I AM STOICK THE VAST AND I CLAIM THE CHIEFDOM OF BERK; DO YOU YIELD TO ME?"

Quietly, Olvor stepped down from the chief's position, walked forward and held out her right arm; without looking down, Stoick held out his arm and grasped her wrist as she did likewise.

"I yield to Stoick the Vast; Chief of Berk."

The Elders and Warriors who all stood behind Olvor, moved down the hall to stand behind Stoick and so signified their agreement with the restoration of the Chief. Stoick walked up to the place where Olvor had stood when the ceremony had begun.

"I AM STOICK AND I AM CHIEF ONCE AGAIN."

The whole room gave a single loud hand clap and the short ceremony was over. Mulch remained behind to talk with Stoick and Olvor while the others left and went about their tasks.

"So then my friends, have my orders been carried out?"

"Aye Stoick" Mulch informed him "we've installed two fish pots…"

"Feeding stations" Olvor interjected.

"Ah whatever, anyway there are two so far and the arena is being upgraded with temporary pens and some more are being planned for the cliff overhang; oh... and some of the lads are checking out which buildings will need to have stronger roof beams installed before they collapse under the weight of a few dragons."

Stoick was glad to know what the people thought his orders were, so he could go on pretending that he had given them.

"And what of Hiccup; is there any news?"

"He still sleeps but…" she lowered her voice even though everyone else had gone "he's dreaming."

"What?" the men spoke together.

"I could see movement under his eyelids and his breathing changed briefly. I'm not totally sure but I think it's a good sign and he could wake up any time... I hope."

"So he's not out of the woods yet?"

"No, but I feel much more confident than I did back on Dragon Island."

Stoick looked down and shook his head.

"Thank you for talking sense into me back there. Who knows what another night in a damp and draughty cave would have done to him."

"She spoke a lot of sense back here too Stoick" Mulch added "It was almost as if she really did speak with your authority."

Olvors blood suddenly turned cold as she felt all the lies crumble around her.

"But… err… you knew…about…?"

Stoick smiled broadly as Mulch explained.

"Of course we knew Lass. If Stoick had really sent you to speak in his name, he would have given you somthin' in writing or his sword or some kind of sign."

"Then why did you…?"

"Well we listened to what you said because it all made perfect sense. You were obviously trying to help make the peace and on top of that you gave us all a way out from the whole 'attacking-the-Chiefs-wounded-son' thing" he turned to Stoick.

"We really are very sorry about that Chief, but none of us had any idea that he and the others would be flying in on dragons last evening and we really thought it was another raid."

"And even though most of the village was away on Dragon Island and you were only few in number, you still decided to take them on and defend the village" Stoick roared with laughter "That's not brave my old friend; that's crazy."

"Oh crazy says crazy Stoick the crazy Chief of Berk and general king of crazy; thank you very much."

"WAIT!" Olvor was both confused and frustrated "If you knew I was lying, then why… I mean how…"

"Look dear, it's very simple; if the Chief can't take charge for some reason, he can temporarily give his authority to someone else so we don't end up with too many people giving conflicting orders... are you with me so far?"

I know that, but he didn't…"

"Hold you horses, or should I say dragons now? A few of the Chiefs most trusted warriors know that they can claim this authority during times of great need, but only if Stoick is not here to take charge himself. Although we have to be sure that they act in the manner of the Chief, or they risk being charged with treason."

"So you just listened and…"

"Exactly my dear; you were the last person to be with Stoick, so we knew that you would have the best idea of what was really going on with all these dragons and such. What's more, if you had tried to usurp the Chief and take over, I would have stuck a knife in your side but it was obvious to me that was not your intent."

Olvor began to feel calmer knowing that she would not have to live in constant fear of her secret being discovered.

"And I knew that you were unaware of all this" Stoick added "so I had to make sure that you didn't do something silly like confess or banish yourself before I could return and put things back as they were. Oh and well done by the way and welcome to the exclusive club of temporary Chiefs."

"I think I'll stick to cutting off limbs" she sighed "it's less stressful. Who else know about all this anyway?"

"Well there would be Sigrid and Spitelout" Mulch tried hard to remember "Agnar, Gothi and Olaf as well as anyone over sixty."

"So about dozen people all up including us" she concluded.

"Oh and we have to tell Odd now" Stoick added "because he was with Sigrid when Olvor let the Terrible Terror out of the bag... but now I must go and see my son."

The three conspirators left the building only to hear the screaming whine of a Night Fury in a high speed dive as Toothless and Astrid flashed by so fast, that Stoick had to grab his helmet to stop it from being blown off.

"wwwaaaaaAAAAAAHOOOOOOOooooooooooo" is all she could say as she flew by.

"Well then… I think that new tail works wonderfully" Gobber declared proudly.

The sun set on Berk as the mouth watering aroma of spit roasted yak and various members of the poultry family filled the Great Hall. The people of the village gathered to feast together for the first time since the fleet had sailed for Dragon Island a week ago. The only people not currently present were Gothi and Astrid, who were sitting with Hiccup as well as the crew of the Sharktooth which was due to make landfall in just over an hour or so.

Stoick gave a little speech to thank everyone for their efforts over the last few days and invited all and any ideas about dragonising the village, to be expressed to Gobber, Sigrid, Odd and Thorfinn over the next few days. Later in the evening when the crew of the Sharktooth wandered into the hall, a fresh round of food and drinks were consumed and more toasts were made and so it was almost midnight before Stoick was able to make his way home.

It was very fortunate that the Chiefs house was rather spacious inside for although he was quite used to receiving large numbers of people in the past, this was the first time that some of his guests had been so large. He opened his front door to find Toothless and Stormfly stretched out and sleeping by the fire pit where Gothi sat in Stoicks special relaxing chair roasting her feet with a Terrible Terror curled up on her lap. Hiccup still lay in his bed and Astrid was fast asleep on a nearby bench.

It had been Stoicks plan to relieve the Hiccup sitters for the night and spend some time alone looking after his son as a father should, but he did not have the heart to disturb them and besides, they had all invested so much of their time and effort in helping Stoick with the boy, that it did not seem right just to tell them to leave. So after stoking the fire and adjusting Hiccups blanket, Stoick climbed the steps and sighed with relief to be in his own comfortable bed once more.

Now if only he could block out the sound of Astrids snoring.


	29. Chapter 29

29 What A Day

"RRAAK"

It was not the way Stoick had intended to wake up, but it did seem fitting to be kept awake the night before by the snoring rider before being woken by her dragon the next day. Sitting up, he rubbed his stomach and sore head and briefly contemplated never feasting and drinking so much again. The feeling soon passed and he began contemplate breakfast instead. He walked slowly down the steps while listening to the cheerful morning song of Berks premier Nadder rider.

"Chief!" a shocked Astrid nearly jumped out of her skin when he appeared.

"Sorry to wake you... I forgot you were here... again... back... home."

"It's alright Astrid, but maybe you should take the dragons outside while I make some breakfast."

"Oh... don't worry about that" she made for the door "I'm making some breakfast for Gothi and Olvor so I'll make some for you too; come on Stormfly, let's go."

The eager young girl and dragon disappeared out the door and ran off to make another morning meal.

"I hope you like eggs" Stoick turned toward the voice to find Olvor and Gothi had removed Hiccups left leg to re-dress the wound.

"Of course I like eggs; why do you ask?"

"Well I dare say you're about to have your choice of eggs prepared three or four different ways; it's Astrid's breakfast specialty."

"Hmmm, lucky me. What's that you're putting on Hiccups leg?"

"The main ingredient is the sap from a succulent plant. It's great for burns, so we hope it will dull the pain for Hiccup while he heals. We won't know for sure if it works though till he wakes up and tells us."

Olvor looked down at Hiccup "So wake up and tell us you lazy little boy."

"Uuuhhnnhh" was the only reply but it was enough to get Stoicks attention.

"Did you hear that? He's awake at last."

"As Gobber would say Chief 'Don't get your knickers in a twist' it's just a little side effect of his dreaming that I told you about yesterday. That may have been illegible babble, but he did say something this morning; just a single word."

"What was it?" Stoick asked eagerly.

"I'll give you a clue; I hope Hiccup likes eggs."

"Really?"

"Yup; why do you think she was singing so cheerfully this morning?"

After breakfast, Stoick took a stroll around the village to make his first morning inspection as the Chief of the Dragon Riders. The first of his people that he met on his walk, was Little Freya who greeted him from the back of a medium sized, greenish blue Nadder. A short distance down the arced avenue of homes, he came across Odd; who was slightly out of breath.

"Mornin' Chief; you haven't seen Windrunner anywhere have you?"

"Head halfway up the street and look for the smaller of the two Freyas; you'll find your dragon firmly attached to her tiny little bottom."

He watched Odd run off up the hill and thought 'I must have a word to Big Freya about her dragon thieving daughter; Nadder owners will never be safe till she renounces this life of crime.'

All was peaceful on Berk thanks mainly the large number of Vikings who were sleeping off last night's feast and the loudest sound to be heard, was that of the beating wings of four riderless Zipplebacks flying by overhead. As Stoick approached the rock spire on the southeast side of the village, he was surprised to see the posteriors of three Vikings who were on their knees peering over the edge of the cliff and down the rock face.

"I can only assume that there is something very interesting down there."

Two of the three rose up from their undignified position as the Chief approached.

"Ah good mornin' Stoick" Gobber greeted as he and Sigrid got back to their feet while Thorfinn continued to peer over the side.

"What are you three up to here and should I be worried?"

"Err... planning and probably" came Gobbers reply as Stoick took a quick glance down, but did not see anything out of the ordinary as Sigrid took up the explanation.

"Yesterday Odd asked Astrid to take a look at Berk from a dragon's perspective and work out the best place to build the main stable. A spot that would be close by, but not in anyone's way and she says that there is a mark down there showing the perfect spot, but we can't quite see it."

"Don't tell me, let me guess; you were all looking down the cliff when Odd decided to go check it out. But when he turned around, his dragon was gone" Stoick deduced.

"Uncanny Chief, how do you do it?"

"It's not as hard as you think when Little Freya is around."

Fifteen minutes later Odd had retrieved his dragon and joined Gobber and Pigg halfway between the village and the waves. As soon as they had completed the inspection of the cliff face, they returned to the others near the forge.

"It looks difficult Chief, but the end result should be worth the trouble" Odd informed them.

"So how would we go about this?" Stoick asked as Gobber grabbed a broken sword from his scrap metal pile.

Scraping the sword in the dirt, he drew a side view of the cliff with a platform jutting out just over halfway up.

"We build this platform on the side of the cliff using a similar method to the walkways that go down to the docks. Then we work from on top of the platform to cut the rock from the cliff face giving us both an underground dragon pen and cut stone for building anything that needs to be fire proof; it's win win."

"It could take years to complete" Sigrid chimed in "but if the dragons like to keep their homes warm as they did on Dragon Island, then we could end up with a centrally heated village."

"Doesn't that mean we will have lava coming out of the cliff and a permanent sea fog?" Stoick was concerned.

"It was the Red Death that caused all that, so we should be fine."

"And besides" Thorfinn added "now that we don't need to completely reconstruct the village after every raid, we can take on projects like this more often."

"Indeed; let's get the plans started on this" Stoick agreed and left them to their work.

The morning grew into a fine day as Stoick considered his change of fortune. Less than a month ago he had been worried that he would not be able to feed his people during the coming winter but now, although their livestock numbers were still low, the people of Berk now possessed fast aerial access to all the surrounding islands over the horizon where they could trap anything from Boars to Bunnies and build up their stocks with ease.

Many people came to him with many good ideas, like a permanent lookout on the now accessible highest peak of the island, a dragon powered sauna and even plans for dragon sports and games. Most of the Vikings though, were still content to simply practice their flying and make additions to their homes so their new pets could reside with the family. Gronckles and Nadders were shown to be the best indoor dragons while Zipplebacks and Nightmares proved to be a little too restless and flighty, but that did not stop some brave souls from planning en suite stone pens for their precious little darlings (little?).

"It's a very pleasing view isn't it?" Olvor commented to Stoick as he stood halfway up the steps to his home where he had a perfect view of the village's new life.

"Aye that it is... and how my boy then?"

"No change yet. Gothi's gone home to get some rest in case she has to sit up with him again tonight and Astrid is trying to find Stormfly who disappeared half an hour ago. And is it my imagination, or is that young Freya down there on a very familiar looking Nadder?"

"I really do have to speak to her mother" Stoick stood shaking his head as Olvor wandered off and Snotlout flew by on his dragon.

"Come on you guys" he called back to Fishlegs and the twins as they prepared to take another joyride around the village. Just then, the familiar voice of his son drifted into Stoicks ears.

"I knew it; I'm dead!"


	30. Chapter 30

30Epilogue

It had been a very busy and interesting afternoon for Hiccup to say the very least. As long as he had remained on the ground, the people of Berk would not leave him alone for even one minute so it was fortunate for him that Toothless had wanted to spend so much time trying out his new red tail in the skies over the island. It had also allowed him a chance to spend a little time alone with Astrid, if you could call soaring through the clouds on separate dragons alone, but compared to being surrounded by well-wishers constantly slapping him on the back and referring to him as The Hero of Dragon Island, two dragons made for absolute solitude.

After racing around the village, the six riders that had defeated the Red Death made straight for the clouds while looping and turning in an impressive way that only solidified their new reputations as the first and best Dragon Riders of Berk. Although that had not been the plan when they gave the aerial display, their reputation had been created and it was now completely out of their hands. Hiccup even suspected that sometime in the future, a story would be told of how a tall and muscular man named Hiccup, had wrestled a giant dragon to the ground with only his bare hands, while his faithful dragon Bigfang had clamped itself onto the monsters tail in some kind of death grip; so legends tended to grow.

Hiccup had not been given much of a chance to speak with Astrid since the kiss that had given him goose bumps, but as romantic as the clouds were, he knew another rider could appear at any moment so he had kept the moment light with a little small talk about how lovely the sky was and what a fine job Gobber had done on his leg. For her part, Astrid had just smiled and agreed while thoroughly enjoying the effect she was having on him.

"It's good to be flying together on our own dragons" he remarked casually.

"Oh" she smiled "So you don't like having me on your dragon slowing you down and getting in the way."

"NO" he panicked "I didn't mean that at all; I loved flying with you and I only meant…"

Hiccups mood suddenly changed and Astrid wondered if she had taken her playful ways too far.

"Oh wow!" he remarked oddly.

"What's wrong babe?"

"I just had this vision of my father. He was standing over me and he said… he said…"

"What? What did he say?" Astrid asked as Hiccup looked straight into her face.

"He said… 'Don't blow it son, she's worth the effort' and while I agree with him whole heartedly, it just felt a little weird."

Hiccup did not know it, but Astrid was feeling a little weird herself as she remembered how Stoick had said those very words to Hiccup when he lay unconscious in the cave on Dragon Island. If Hiccup could remember that, then he may remember… some other things she had said.

"It's just your mind playing tricks on you" Astrid was desperate to change the subject.

"Yeah I know, but Dad has never spoken to me like that and it feels like a real memory… and there are more of them too."

Astrid began to fear he would soon be telling her about memories of soppy pet names, of Astrid begging him not to die or that he could remember every other word she had said to him as he lay motionless in the cave, but instead Hiccup just slapped himself across the face and apologized.

"I'm sorry Astrid. I didn't mean to kill the mood, but I guess that giant dragon's tail hit me harder than I thought."

Relief flooded over her panicked face when she realized that she was off the hook… for now.

"Hey, I know you're still recovering… so we'll give it time."

"Thanks" he smiled "you're so cool."

"Do you know that it's been three days since you got hit by that tail?"

"It feels like an hour ago for me."

As the sun set below the bright orange sky, the unofficial young couple returned to Berk to take their places of honor at the second feast. As the evening progressed, speeches were given, toasts were made and Vikings joyfully put on weight, but Hiccup noticed one brave warrior did not appear to be enjoying the feast as much as all the others and had even left the Great Hall.

"Dad" he quietly asked his father "is there something wrong with Sigrid?"

He noticed the instant change in Stoick's face as he bent down close to Hiccup and told him of Buttercup the Monstrous Nightmare, what Sigrid and her dragon had done for Toothless and finally of his untimely demise.

"I should go and talk to her" Hiccup said earnestly.

"Aye" Stoick replied "but give her a little time alone first."

Another main course (wild boar this time) and another round of drinks later, the festivities were still showing no sign of abating even though the night was half over. Hiccup was forced to sway back and forth thanks to the firm grip Stoick had on his shoulder as Gobber lead another one of his favorite Viking shanties. Hiccup really had no choice but to join in, plus there was also the fact that all Viking shanties were Gobbers favorite Viking shanties. Although the late hour and the constant swaying was making Hiccups vision a little blurry, he did manage to notice that Astrid had left the head table and he briefly caught her eye as she smiled at him and slipped out the main door. She knew that if they were to indulge in a little clandestine rendezvous, she would have to be patient as Hiccup would find it much harder to escape from the feast than she had with so many people wanting to welcome him back to the land of the living, but she did want to see how hard he would try.

One song later Hiccup excused himself to his father on the true premise of going to see Sigrid, but Stoick had noticed Astrids departure as well and wished his son 'good luck' under his breath.

Outside the hall, Hiccup approached Sigrid as she stood alone in the night.

"My father told me about your beautiful dragon…"

"He was a fine beast for sure" she agreed.

"…and what you both did for Toothless."

"You and he deserved our help."

"Thank you" he said plainly and honestly.

Her smile broadened as she grabbed him in a hug so tight, he began to wonder if he would ever be able to fully inhale ever again.

"You are so very very very welcome."

Astrid sat on a long bench down by one of the island signal fires and waited patiently. From this day forward she would always know when Hiccup was approaching thanks to the squeaky spring in his metal leg and as she listened to the sound of his approach, it gave her a feeling of comfort. That sound meant that he was alive, the long wait was over and life could go on once more.

"It's quite the party" he commented as he sat.

"It was worth the wait" Astrid replied "I'm glad you're okay."

"Ah… yeah I could sorta tell that when you err… um… does this mean that…"

"Yes… does this mean what?"

She was not going to give him any clues tonight; Astrid had decided that it was his turn to pursue her now and he knew it too.

"Does this mean… that you… and I"

"Go on" she smiled.

"That you and I… are… well… no longer you and I, but are now… us?"

"Hmmm… do you want to be… us?"

A massive attack of honesty suddenly overwhelmed Hiccup as he stood up.

"I have lost track of how long I have wanted you and I to be us."

He started to paced back and forth while shaking his finger at Astrid as if she were a naughty child.

"You… oh you… you may think you are cute now, but when you were only four… oh my, you could out cute a baby rabbit at twenty paces and when you turned nine, oh my goodness… blossoms were as rocks in comparison to your beauty and at twelve…"

"ALRIGHT! Alright, I get the message… so… you like me then?"

He sat back down and shrugged "A little."

Astrid hit him again; he deserved it.

"OOWW! I assume that means your gonna kiss me again."

"No, that time I just wanted to hit you."

"Oh well… I guess that makes a change… I suppose… but err… if I do have a choice, I liked it much better when you kissed me."

"Oh really?" Astrid stood up suddenly, turned to face Hiccup and bent down to glare straight into his eyes.

"And who says" she paused for dramatic effect and repeated herself.

"Who says… that it always has to be me" she paused again "ME… who kisses… you?"

Hiccup leaned back with fear in his eyes and his mouth open to speak, but with nothing yet to say until at last… very slowly… like treacle in winter, her words began to make their way deep into his mind and a broad smile made its way up his face that was mirrored by Astrid perfectly.

"Oh…OH…" he smiled and raised his left hand to touch her face, but she jumped back and laughed.

"No you don't dragon boy; it's not gonna be that easy" she giggled as she ran off.

Hiccup leapt to his feet… well… foot, and took off after her as she taunted him.

Stoick the Vast came out of the Great Hall and approached a smiling Sigrid as she stared into the night.

"What on earth is that noise?" he asked in bewilderment.

"That Chief, is the sound of a one-legged dragon rider trying desperately to catch his lady love so he can steal a kiss, but he's not doing very well at the moment."

Stoick listened intently and began to snicker at what he heard.

"Oh come on Astrid, please slow down; I've only got one leg."

"Stop whining Hiccup… you've got one and a half."

"Well what good is that?"

"It's half a leg more than Gobbers got."

"I don't want to catch Gobber, I want to catch you."

Sigrid and Stoick almost fell over with laughter until the Chief managed to compose himself again.

"Would you like to come back in Sigrid? We're about to make a toast… to fallen friends."

She smiled, but her eyes did go a little moist as they re-entered the hall.

Astrid thoroughly enjoyed being pursued and although Hiccup never did catch her that night, she did let him get close a few times and for his part, he had a great time trying… and there was always tomorrow.

Hiccup pondered a few ideas as he chased the girl he loved before he came to the conclusion; 'Life with one leg, was gonna be… fun.'

* * *

**Thank you for reading my first story and I am hoping you will consider looking at some of the others. As well as more HTTYD stories, I am writing an original work over on the FictionPress site if you would like to check it out (same author name, Marty The Martian).**

**Bye for now, _Marty and Moon._**


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